With COVID-19 limiting opportunities to throw costume parties on Halloween, this year’s rendition of the holiday may be a bit of a bummer for enthusiasts. A new DraftKings Halloween eating contest may fill that gap, however.
Contestants will face a six-pound mountain of candy in the event.
Hoosiers can not only watch the event through DraftKings’ app and website, but wager on it as well.
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Details on the DraftKings Halloween eating contest
The event is slated to take place at the Beer Park in Las Vegas on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 7:30 p.m. ET. If you’d like, you can watch the event on DraftKings‘ Twitch or YouTube channel.
Major League Eating, the same governing body that operates the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, will judge the event. That is a big requirement for legitimizing the event as a competitive contest.
The contest follows a steeplechase format. Essentially, that means the first to finish the six-pound trove of six different types of candy wins. The field of entrants will include some of MLE’s most famous talent, like Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo.
DraftKings will offer a free-to-play pool with a $10,000 prize for customers in every market it operates either daily fantasy contests or sports betting.
Indiana is just one of two such jurisdictions, so far anyway, where fans can legally wager on the event as well.
Colorado is the other. New Jersey may be a possibility, as bettors there were able to wager on this summer’s hot dog contest.
It’s hard to tell whether the hot dog-consuming prowess of performers like Chestnut and Sudo will translate to candy corn and peanut butter cups. For DraftKings, however, it’s a win no matter which competitor prevails.
Similar events on the horizon
On top of being just another event for bettors to wager on, it’s a great way to appeal to Hoosiers who may not be interested in betting on traditional sporting events. The hope for DraftKings is to expand its customer database in that way.
DraftKings and Major League Eating aren’t stopping at the Halloween event. The pair announced a three-part competitive eating series.
The next event will be a full Thanksgiving meal, complete with a roasted turkey, scheduled for the Thanksgiving holiday.
The third installment of the eating series features a Super Bowl party spread planned for Feb. 6.
Johnny Avello, head of sportsbook, believes consumers will be excited to engage with alternative sporting event options,
“Competitive eating has become a mainstay of the American holidays and we believe this series will provide an engaging focus for fans. Consumers have shown a clear appetite to engage beyond traditional sports with alternative offerings, and we look forward to a triple-header of superior competitive eating.”
While it’s uncertain which professional eater will finish the 6-pound bag of candy first, and way too much candy corn in our opinion, what is clear is that DraftKings is looking to expand offerings to customers beyond traditional sports.
Maybe hot chicken wings are next?
