FanDuel Inc. (www.fanduel.com), the largest one-day fantasy sports operator, today announced it has acquired leading fantasy eSports platform, AlphaDraft. Marking its entry into the fantasy eSports market, FanDuel will leverage the partnership to enhance and expand core product offerings in order to further reach new sports fans while maximizing engagement.
With the best talent in the sports tech industry, FanDuel’s acqui-hire of AlphaDraft, the premier daily fantasy sports platform that seamlessly blends eSports, live streaming and fantasy sports contests, will bring the company’s employee base in-house to help create a one of its kind daily fantasy product specifically for eSports. This partnership marks the first time FanDuel will have a product for the eSports community.
“With over 200 million people globally watching eSports, AlphaDraft gives those fans a way to engage with this burgeoning entertainment product that creates an enormous opportunity for us,” said Nigel Eccles, CEO and Co-founder, FanDuel. “This is sports for a new demographic, with very little crossover with what are considered traditional sports fans, and this acquisition gives us the ability to leverage the expertise of AlphaDraft’s team, while helping their efforts in customer acquisition and building awareness of this new industry. It’s a win-win.”
The acquisition of AlphaDraft continues FanDuel’s long-term strategy of acquiring top talent around the fantasy sports industry as it builds one of the finest fantasy products for players – all designed to enhance the sports experience. This comes on the heels of the acquisition of numberFire, the premier next generation sports analytics platform, and Kotikan, a leading mobile app developer.
“It is clear that FanDuel is committed to the fan community,” said Todd Peterson, CEO of AlphaDraft. “This pairing creates an incredible opportunity to drive the fantasy industry forward and create compelling products that will enhance all fan engagement.”
Investors in AlphaDraft to date include former NBA Commissioner David Stern, Metamorphic Ventures, WME, Upfront Ventures, Melo7 Tech Partners, IDG Ventures, Greycroft Partners, Freestyle Capital, KEC, Amplify.LA, and others. eSports generated $612m in revenue last year and 13% of all live stream viewers are watching eSports. By 2017, the number of eSports fans is projected to come close to that of American football.
