The two major daily fantasy sports operators announced Nov. 18 what had been obvious and rumored for months. FanDuel and DraftKings will merge operations sometime in 2017.
For anyone who has followed the DFS storyline, the reasons were as obvious as the inevitably of such a move. The daily fantasy sports industry has been bleeding money since its inception, and the turmoil of the last year resulted in a hemorrhage of cash.
FanDuel and DraftKings both launched an expensive advertising blitz at the outset of the 2015 NFL season, reportedly accounting for hundreds of millions of dollars in costs. That was followed by enormous pushback from attorneys general and mainstream media who questioned the legality of the contests, as well as the tone and substance of the advertising pitches.
