SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
US Tech news sources are reporting that FanDuel governance is ‘evaluating its position’ with regards to its planned merger with main DFS market rival DraftKings.
Last June the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) blocked the combination of FanDuel-DraftKings on the grounds that a merged enterprise would control ‘+90% of the US fantasy sports market’, creating unfair business conditions for consumers, stakeholders and competition.
The governances of FanDuel and DraftKings have hit back at the FTC review, stating that both companies have ambitions to serve broader marketplaces within sports, which would see the companies compete against bigger US enterprises.
At present, the FTC has maintained its assessment of FanDuel-DraftKings but has scheduled an administrative conference on 14 July, for merger stakeholders to present new arguments to overturn its decision.
The FTC’s rejection of FanDuel-DraftKings will likely have implications throughout the US gambling, sports and tech sectors. Both firms have been heavily backed by leading US Tech venture capital firms and media owners, spending a vast sum of money on TV advertising and high coverage sports sponsorships.
Speaking to US Tech source Recode.net, Nigel Eccles CEO and Founder of FanDuel, stated that his firm was currently reviewing all of its options.
