DraftKings, FanDuel announce long-rumored merger
The two biggest players in the daily fantasy sports industry are joining forces.
DraftKings and FanDuel jointly announced a strategic merger Friday, saying they believe the move "will enable us to further accelerate our investments in product innovation, promotions, and a high-quality customer experience."
The former rivals are perhaps best known among the general public for an arms race of television commercials airing early in the 2015 NFL season. For a while, it seemed like every single commercial was for one of the two services.
Daily fantasy has come under legal threat in some states, with some calling it gambling and alleging that a small number of players win a vast percentage of the money. By merging, DraftKings and FanDuel will be able to pool their resources to fight for the continued and extended legality of daily fantasy sports.
It's unclear what the new company will be called. Technology blog Recode reported last month that DraftKings CEO Jason Robins will run the new entity as CEO, with FanDuel CEO Nigel Eccles becoming chairman of the board.
For now, it appears both sites will continue independently offering daily fantasy contests.