ABSTRACT
With sports betting becoming more popular due to its 2018 federal legalization, this chapter will explore the complexities of the interaction between sports fandom and sports betting by constructing a framework that organizes fannish and gaming possibilities allowed by the game. Using Halverson and Halverson’s (2008) notion of competitive fandom to codify a discursive interface analysis (Stanfill, 2015) of the DraftKings and FanDuel sports betting websites, this chapter will examine the fan and gaming experiences afforded and foreclosed upon by the companies’ websites. It will be argued that sports betting, as constructed by DraftKings and FanDuel, presents a diverse and novel set of interrelated fannish and gaming possibilities. While sports betting affords fan and gaming engagements akin to games like season-long and daily fantasy sports, it also uniquely promotes play according to the neoliberal values of capitalization and financial gain while downplaying fannish connections to community and team.
