The influence of drones in day-to-day life has become an increasing phenomenon, with the sports world looking like the next major step in their path to global domination.
Of the many competitions promoting the craze worldwide, the Drone Racing League has come to boast the biggest commercial brand and now offers legal betting in the United States and abroad.
The organization’s major competition, the DRL Allianz World Championship, annually assembles a selection of the best drone pilots on the planet, who then compete a series of stages (or levels) held in different locations across the globe. Pilots race identically engineered drones while wear first-person view goggles to replicate the feel of driving their rigs from the inside.
In short, this is as close as humans have to Star Wars pod racing in the present day.
Drone.Bet details the ins and outs of how to place wagers on the Drone Racing League, as well as providing bonus and offers to enhance the DRL excitement.
Key DRL Info
Founded in 2016, the Drone Racing League sees pilots compete across various locations all over the world, including Nice (France), Munich (Germany) and Las Vegas, Nevada. The COVID-19 pandemic meant the 2020 season was the first of its kind to be staged exclusively via the DRL Simulator, meaning pilots could compete from the comfort of their homes while flying at speeds above 80 miles per hour:
https://twitter.com/DroneRaceLeague/status/1354105657377644546
To ensure the fairest competition, each pilot’s drone is built to the same specifications, meaning the best pilot wins on the day. The only way of telling drones apart is the color LEDs specific to each pilot, making it easy to know who’s leading the chase at any particular time.
The 2020 DRL Allianz World Championship featured 16 ‘levels’, and pilots claim a specified number of points depending on where they place. The higher the finish, the more points you earn, and the pilot with the most points at the end of the season is crowned world champion.
Each level is split into three rounds: Qualifying, the semi-finals and the finals. The finals conclude with the Golden Heat, the victor of which will be crowned winner of the level.
How to Bet
DraftKings announced its official partnership with the Drone Racing League in January 2021, which means the sportsbook will offer exclusive offers and bonuses on the sport in future events.
United States-based customers can also place bets with Unibet, although BetMGM, William Hill and Pointsbet are rumored to be joining in the near future. Only resident of certain states can legally place wagers on the DRL as things stand, which are: Colorado, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Michigan, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Illinois.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7oF0Gr1tzs
Wagers can be placed on individual level winners or which pilot will win the overall world title, although more markets will be expected to follow as the sport’s profile grows.
Viewing Information
Spectators can watch every level via the official Drone Racing League Twitter account, but television viewers can also catch the action with NBC (United States), Sky Sports (United Kingdom) and Fox Sports Asia.
The Drone Racing League also regularly features ‘pre-flight shows’ via their official YouTube channel, as well as race highlights and interviews with some of the competition’s biggest names:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3GiosgVj9M
The 2020 Allianz World Championship was forced to adapt as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, but the DRL nonetheless made their flagship event very accessible for a worldwide audience. Drone racing may still be considered small scale compared to the mainstream sports, but numerous means of viewing the aerial acrobatics means the DRL is readily available to both the die-hard fan and more casual viewers.
