DraftKings & FanDuel: Fantasy Sports Merger Issues

Players have been anticipating the rumored merger between fantasy sports giants DraftKings and FanDuel for many months. Now, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission may throw a wrench into the deal. Also, there is fantasy news from Germany. This week’s special offer is from bet365 Poker, where you can get a €100 bonus and Tournament Tickets Worth €5 free!

DraftKings betting shop

DraftKings Opens in Germany

US daily fantasy sports site DraftKings officially went live with a beta version in Germany on Thursday. Earlier this year, DraftKings announced it would be going live in Germany during Q1, thanks to a new skill-games license acquired in Malta. (Fantasy soccer site Oulala is the only other company known to have acquired this license.) The full suite of DraftKings fantasy contests will be available to the German population… “Germany is known for its passionate sports fans and we are pleased to welcome them to daily fantasy sports,” DraftKings Chief International Officer Jeffrey Haas said in a press release upon…

DraftKings FanDuel Merger in Doubt

In mid-November 2016 the two largest daily fantasy football companies, DraftKings & FanDuel, announced a merger of equals. The thinking was that instead of pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into continuing to fight each other, they could fight legal and political battles together & continue to expand. When the news broke, ReCode quoted “the merger still needs to pass regulatory approval, but it’s hard to imagine that will be a problem.” So why haven’t we heard anything substantial since then? Why have almost four months gone by with no news of a confirmed merger? A period of silence of…

DraftKings betting shop

DraftKings to Operate in Germany

Daily fantasy sports site DraftKings is heading to Germany. That’s thanks to a new gaming license the company acquired from the Malta Gaming Authority. The international expansion will occur sometime during Q1, Jeffrey Haas, chief international officer for DraftKings, told Legal Sports Report. It marks the first expansion of DraftKings’ footprint since DraftKings UK went live about a year ago. The core news is that DraftKings announced it had acquired a “Controlled Skill Games License” from the MGA. That is a new type of gaming license — apart from gambling licensing — that specifically looked to account for DFS. Acquiring…

Pending Fantasy Sports Merger Begs Question

Now that the two largest online daily fantasy sports sites are back in the news—nearing a deal to merge into a company drawing $100 million in revenue, according to the Wall Street Journal—it’s a good time to answer a nasty, nagging question: Are these sites legal? Because the companies in question, FanDuel and DraftKings, are backed, respectively, by fat investments from Comcast and 21st Century Fox, it’s apparent that some high-powered attorneys must think that they are. And in fact, at this point, they’re clearly legal in at least nine states. So the real question is whether they will become…

Fantasy Sports are gambling

Fantasy Sports Pay $12 Million for “Deceptive Ads” in New York

The country’s two leading online daily fantasy sports companies are paying out big — in fines to the state. FanDuel and DraftKings on Tuesday agreed to pay $6 million each to settle lawsuits from Attorney General Eric Schneiderman alleging they engaged in false and deceptive advertising practices. Schneiderman had charged that the companies misled casual and novice players about their chances of winning and the significant advantages professional players have while failing to disclose the dangers of gambling addiction. The companies also agreed to revamp their marketing, including better disclosure of expected winnings and performance. Because of recent financial struggles,…