Fantasy Sports Firms FanDuel and DraftKings Agree To Merge

Fantasy sports companies FanDuel and DraftKings agree to combine


18 November 2016


A Scottish tech firm which became a significant player in the US fantasy sports market is to combine with its most significant rival.


FanDuel, which was established in Edinburgh in 2009, has gotten in a merger agreement with DraftKings.


The transaction, which undergoes regulative approval, is anticipated to close in the second half of next year.


FanDuel has workplaces in Edinburgh and Glasgow however moved its headquarters to New york city numerous years back.


DraftKings has its headquarters in Boston.


The companies use online dream contests throughout expert sports in the US, Canada and the UK.


Cost savings


There are an approximated 57 million fantasy players in the US alone.


Both business have actually been dealing with regulatory and legal difficulties to their industry, with regulators in some US states ruling that dream sports companies' activities amounted to prohibited gaming.


In a joint declaration on Friday, the companies stated that by integrating and improving resources they might "speed up deal with federal government officials to continue to establish a basic regulative framework".


They also expect the "strategic merger of equates to" to bring performances and cost savings and help the combined business "accelerate its course to profitability".


FanDuel chief executive Nigel Eccles stated: "Being able to combine DraftKings and FanDuel provides a significant opportunity for us to further innovate and interrupt the sports industry.


"While both business have achieved much currently, this transaction will create an organization that can use a greater variety of offerings, attracting new users, including the tens of millions of season-long fantasy gamers that have not yet tried our products.