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==External links==
==External links==
* [https://www.fanduel.com/?invitedby=promo_up&cnl=da Official Website]
* [https://www.fanduel.com/ Official Website]


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 06:01, 14 October 2015

FanDuel
Founded2009
TypePrivate
HeadquartersNew York City
ProductsDaily fantasy sports
Key people
Nigel Eccles
Lesley Eccles
Tom Griffiths
Rob Jones
Chris Stafford
Nik Bonaddio
Websitewww.fanduel.com

FanDuel is a web-based fantasy sports game and the largest company (as measured by money wagered)[1] in the daily fantasy sports industry. The model consists of traditional season-long fantasy sports leagues being compressed into a daily, and occasionally weekly, game.[2]

The company hosts an average of over 600,000 lineup entries per week into their daily games. In 2015, FanDuel is due to pay out over $2 billion in prizes.[3]

Background

FanDuel was launched by Hubdub, a web-based prediction market game company, on July 21, 2009 after taking in $1.2 million in venture capital funding from Pentech Ventures and Scottish Enterprise.[4][5] In 2010, FanDuel held their first "FanDuel Fantasy Football Championship (FFFC)." The event consisted of 10 users who won entry into the event by winning a qualifying league throughout the NFL season. First place was awarded $25,000 and the total prize pool was $40,000.[6]

On January 30, 2013, FanDuel announced that it had closed an $11 million Series C funding round. The round included new investor Comcast Ventures (the venture capital affiliate of Comcast Corporation), along with previous investors Piton Capital, Pentech Ventures, Bullpen Capital and serial investor Richard Koch. In September 2014, the company announced $70 million in Series D funding. The round was led by Shamrock Capital Advisors with participation from NBC Sports Ventures and KKR. Previous investors Bullpen Capital, Pentech Ventures and Comcast Ventures also participated.[7] In July, 2015 FanDuel announced a Series E funding round of $275 million[8] leading the company to be valued at over a billion dollars. Shortly after announcing the fund raise, FanDuel acquired sports analytics company numberFire.

On November 12, 2014, FanDuel announced a strategic partnership agreement with the National Basketball Association (NBA). As part of the deal the NBA gained an equity stake in FanDuel and will be promoting FanDuel as the “Official One-Day Fantasy Basketball Game.” [9] As of 2015 FanDuel has partnered with 16 NFL teams[10] and 14 NBA teams.[11]

As of May 2014, the company employs a total 80 people,[12] with the staff being split evenly between the Edinburgh and New York City offices.

Awards and recognition

FanDuel has won multiple awards for its spin on the traditional fantasy sports model, including:

2015

  • The Webby Awards: People's Choice Award: Best Mobile Sports App [13]
  • Inc Magazine: Best Industries [14]
  • Entrepreneur Magazine: 100 Brilliant Companies [14]

2014

  • FanDuel founders Nigel Eccles and Tom Griffiths named to Silicon Alley's 100 [15]
  • FSTA's Best Daily Fantasy Product for both Web and Mobile [16]

2013

  • FSTA's Best Fantasy Contest [16]
  • Nominated for the Europas Best Gaming or Social Games Start Up 2013[17]
  • Mashable Sports Innovation Index Winner 2012 [18]

2012

  • Mashable's Sports Innovation Index & FSTA Most Outstanding Fantasy Contest [19]
  • Scotland IS Outstanding Performance in Business Growth 2012 [20]
  • Scotland IS Company of the Year 2012 [20]

2010

  • Techcrunch Best Sports and Entertainment Award[21]
  • Heraldscotland.com Global Ambition Award [22]
  • TechCrunch's Best Sports and Entertainment Startup [23]

Legality

See also: Fantasy sport § Legal issues in the United States

There is controversy regarding whether or not daily fantasy sports constitutes as gambling.[24][25][26] In most US states, fantasy sports (including daily fantasy sports) is generally considered a game of skill and therefore not considered gambling. However, some states, such as Arizona, Montana, Louisiana, Iowa and Washington, either use a more restrictive test of whether a game is one of skill or have specific laws outlawing paid fantasy sports.[26] Despite not being considered as gambling in most states, in 2015, the NCAA banned student athletes from participating in daily fantasy sports, while the NFL limited the amount of money its players could win from DFS.[27][28]

At a US federal level, fantasy sports is defined and exempted by the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA). The bill specifically exempts fantasy sports games, educational games, or any online contest that "has an outcome that reflects the relative knowledge of the participants, or their skill at physical reaction or physical manipulation (but not chance), and, in the case of a fantasy or simulation sports game, has an outcome that is determined predominantly by accumulated statistical results of sporting events, including any non-participant's individual performances in such sporting events..."[29] However, all prizing must be determined in advance of the competition and can not be influenced by the fees or number of participants. To be compliant, fantasy sports must follow the rule that: "prizes and awards offered to winning participants are established and made known to the participants in advance of the game or contest and their value is not determined by the number of participants or the amount of any fees paid by those participants." [30]

Daily fantasy sports websites have also faced legal challenges. On October 6, 2015, the New York Attorney General opened an investigation into DraftKings and FanDuel over whether employees from both websites won money on each other's site using inside information.[31] DFS websites have also been the subject of false advertising lawsuits.[26][32][33]

References

  1. ^ Reagan, Brad. "A Fantasy Sports Wizard's Winning Formula". Wall Street Journal.
  2. ^ DiFino, Nando. "Instant Gratification in Daily Fantasy Sports Over Traditional Leagues". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  3. ^ "FanDuel About Page". FanDuel About Page.
  4. ^ King, Bill. "FanDuel delivers daily dose of fantasy. games". SportsBusiness Journal. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  5. ^ Butcher, Mike. "FanDuel turns fantasy sports betting into a social game". TechCrunch. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  6. ^ "2010 FFFC Final Standings & Winning Lineup". rotogrinders.com.
  7. ^ Chernova, Yuliya. "2 September 2014". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  8. ^ Lora Kolodny (14 July 2015). "Fantasy Sports Create Billion-Dollar Startups". WSJ.
  9. ^ "NBA Partners with FanDuel - DFS Report". DFS Report.
  10. ^ Brent Schrotenboer, USA TODAY Sports (21 April 2015). "FanDuel signs deals with 15 NFL teams, escalating daily fantasy integration". USA TODAY.
  11. ^ Hunter Atkins. "FanDuel Announces Exclusive Partnerships with 13 NBA Franchises". Forbes.
  12. ^ "About - FanDuel". fanduel.com.
  13. ^ "FanDuel". webbyawards.com.
  14. ^ a b "Dominating Fantasy Sports, One Day at a Time". Inc.com.
  15. ^ "Silicon Alley 100 2014 - Business Insider". Business Insider. 8 October 2014.
  16. ^ a b "FSTA Award Winners - Fantasy Sports Trade Association". fsta.org.
  17. ^ http://www.theeuropas.com/p/peoples-choice/507
  18. ^ "FanDuel Wins the Mashable 2012 Sports Innovation Index Award!". FanDuel Insider.
  19. ^ Lauren Drell (11 December 2012). "Mashable". Mashable.
  20. ^ a b "Fantasy Sports Startup FanDuel Raises $70 Million". intrepeidexecutivegroup.com.
  21. ^ "PE HUB » FanDuel Closes Series C". PE HUB.
  22. ^ http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/corporate-sme/digital-business-awards-to-show-how-technology-can-aid-success-1.1048379
  23. ^ Mike Butcher. "The Europas European Startup Awards 2010 – The Winners and Finalists". TechCrunch. AOL.
  24. ^ Irwin, Neil. Daily Fantasy Sports and the Hidden Cost of America’s Weird Gambling Laws. The New York Times. 24 September 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  25. ^ "Are daily fantasy sports even legal?". washingtonpost.com. 2015-09-21. Retrieved 2015-09-23.
  26. ^ a b c Hohler, Bob. An uncertain line between fantasy sports, gambling. Boston Globe. 2 August 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  27. ^ Bonesteel, Matt. NCAA athletes aren’t allowed to play fantasy sports for money, even though it’s legal. Washington Post. 22 September 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  28. ^ Bonesteel, Matt. NFL players will make a lot of money as daily-fantasy pitchmen, but not a lot of money playing it. Washington Post. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  29. ^ Longley, Robert (2006-08-22). "Fantasy Sports Not Gambling, Bill Declares". About.com. Retrieved 2007-11-01.
  30. ^ 31 U.S.C. § 5362(1)(E)(ix)
  31. ^ Drape, Joe and Williams, Jacqueline. New York Attorney General Opens Inquiry Into Fantasy Sports Sites. New York Times. 6 October 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  32. ^ Brustein, Joshua. Fantasy Sports and Gambling: Line Is Blurred. New York Times. 11 March 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  33. ^ Swenson, Kyle. DraftKings, Fantasy Sports Giant, Targeted by Class Action Lawsuit for False Advertising. browardpalmbeach.com. 9 February 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
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