Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming December 2016 38 iGaming Blue Pages I n a surprise twist to the Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) saga, industry giants DraftKings and FanDuel are set to join forces after agreeing to terms on a merger. Already boasting 90% market share worldwide between them, the merger would create a true titan of the online gaming industry, with the DFS market expected to double in value to more than US$5.3 billion by 2021. Under the proposed deal, DraftKings Chief Executive Jason Robins would become CEO of the new entity while FanDuel boss Nigel Eccles would be Chairman of the board. “Joining forces will allow us to truly realize the potential of our vision, and as a combined company, we will be able to accelerate the pace of innovation and bring a richer experience to iGaming in Depth our customers than we ever could have done separately,” Robins said. News of the merger comes at the end of a turbulent 12 months for DraftKings and FanDuel. On the back of a multi-million dollar advertising blitz ahead of the 2015- 16 NFL season, fantasy football grew by a phenomenal 500% from the previous year with an estimated 56 million Americans playing DFS in one form or another. The value of both companies soared to over US$1 billion each. But having previously flown under the radar of regulators nationwide until then, such extraordinary growth was always going to attract attention eventually. The tipping point was the revelation that a DraftKings employee had won US$6 million playing DFS on rival site FanDuel – the inference It’s been an eventful year for Daily Fantasy Sports giants DraftKings and FanDuel, resulting in the revelation that they will now merge to create an industry superpower. IAG takes a closer look at their path to marriage. Final fantasy