FanDuel Sportsbook

FanDuel offers rewards that make betting more fun. I worked on improving the Odds Boost, a key goal for Q3, projected to generate $40M. I had ownership over my project, but sought frequent feedback from my team, which helped me finish the project in under 10 weeks!

Role
Product Design Intern
Timeline
Jun 2023–Aug 2023
Team
PMs, UXR, Content Design, UX Design
Skills
Interaction Design
Prototyping
Design Systems
Usability Testing
Tools
Figma
Jira
UserTesting.com



Overview


An end-to-end project

Scoping → MVP → Handoff

My process started from the kickoff meeting to align on scope through creating four high-fidelity prototypes tested via UserTesting.com. Throughout the process, I worked with PMs, UXR, content design, and product design. I iterated based on research findings, and by the end of my internship, delivered specs for handoff.

My contributions

A reward that makes betting more engaging

I designed and tested an MVP for a new mechanic for an existing reward that reduces the implementation burden on sports traders. It's scalable, supports segmentation, and provides customers with more qualifying bets and tailored options, driving satisfaction and engagement—a win-win for both customers and the business.
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The problem I solved

The current reward is only available for one bet type, limiting options for users, and engagement driving opportunities for the business

User:
"I want to be rewarded for my loyalty and receive personalized betting options."
Business
"The manual implementation is tedious and we want to increase retention rates"
Thus how might we...
Scale the Odds Boost across multiple use cases so that it drives engagement and becomes more easy to implement?

Core journey designs

Scenario 1: Effortless auto-apply‍

This user flow is the "happy path" because the reward is visible on the homepage and auto-applied
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Scenario 2: Multiple rewards are nested

The reward is a bit harder to find because it is nested, and there are multiple eligible bets
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Gathering team feedback

I presented the above user flows to several stakeholders to get some feedback before iterating further. I learned of alternative use cases to consider.

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Sub-journey designs

How can we inform users on how to use the reward?
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What I did:
‍Workshop messaging with content design

Testing Question:
Will users understand how to user the reward and what the reward does?

Even though parlays are out of scope, what if users try to build one?
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What I did:
‍Collaborate with content design to write message, discuss placement with designers

Testing Question:
Will users understand the why they can't apply the odds boost to a parlay?



Gathering user feedback
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After finishing the high-fidelity prototypes, I conducted unmoderated tests on UserTesting.com to gather feedback and identify areas to refine or retain.
10 participants

Bet on sports within the past month
Bet on sports for at least 3 months
Experience with straight bets
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4 prototypes

Happy path (with info modal)
Complex path (with error)
2 versions of competition level reward




User Testing


Prototype 1

Auto-apply / happy path

Reasoning: Auto-applying lowers friction and is logical, given the odds are boosted before the user journey starts.
Test Result:
Very straightforward for users
No further changes were needed at this point!

Final design

This is toggled on by default
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Prototype 2

Complex flow with error messaging

Iteration A

Reasoning:
Signals specifically what’s causing the error

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Iteration B

Reasoning:
Clearly tells user the parlay is ineligible by greying out the wager/win


Iteration C

Reasoning:
Informs user upfront that the boost is removed when combined into a parlay


Testing Version

Reasoning:
Further details how other bets are still eligible, a direct link helps less familiar users

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Test Result:
Varied Interpretations
  • Tried to place parlay despite the error message saying they could only place straights
  • Tried to remove the ineligible leg
Action Taken:
Continue in Phase 2
  • Parlay use cases are complex and will take more time to develop, making it a better fit for phase 2 rather than the current MVP

Final design





Prototype 3 & 4:

Two ways of indicating multiple eligible rewards

Version A

Reasoning:
Straightforward, less friction

Version B

Reasoning:
Too many yellow boxes could be overwhelming
Test Result:
Mixed Preferences
  • Version A saves a step
  • Version B details reward restrictions
Action Taken:
Combine Both
  • Default state is toggled "on"
  • Show restrictions in detail
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Final design

Shows reward restrictions and is toggled on by default
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Ready for Handoff

After getting approval for making updates after my research readout, I prepared specs for dev:
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Impact

I built and launched an MVP that was the priority for the quarter. Beyond the immediate value below, this solution is scalable, allowing the reward to be applied to a broader range of bets in the future. This foundation enables designers to expand betting options for users as they continue to iterate!

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Reward Funds
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0.8-1.5x

more funds can be allocated to users for rewards

Commercial Value
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$40M

in re-investable funds was generated for FanDuel


Final Thoughts

Reflecting...
Balance business and user goals: I learned how to balance engagement goals with business impact. By scaling Odds Boost into more betting options, we not only increased user appeal but also delivered operational value by making the feature easier to implement and maintain.

Keep scope contained but think about the future: There were use cases (like parlays) that I couldn’t tackle without extending the project for months. As a team, we defined that as out of scope, but I still made sure to confirm user appetite in my tests. Knowing it would be scaled later helped content design and me craft error messaging that set the groundwork for future use cases.
A note from my manager:

Mementos:‍