We know it was going to happen sooner or later but still feel unreal. DraftKings and FanDuel have officially merged into one big daily fantasy sports company. DraftKings and FanDuel estimate they have about five million users between the two companies. We don’t know much about the merged company but what we do know is DraftKings CEO Jason Robins will be CEO of the new joint entity. FanDuel CEO Nigel Eccles will serve as chairman. Both companies will be allotted three board seats with a seventh going to an independent board member. DraftKings CEO Jason Robins and FanDuel CEO Nigel Eccles each will be appointed on board as well.
The two companies have both raised more than half a billion dollars combined even though they are pretty much the same. Now they can stop spending money fighting each and stop worrying about competition. The real fight will be will for winning approval in the states that consider daily fantasy sports gambling. Which makes the company’s operations illegal. The merger will need regulatory approval but I don’t see this being a problem in the environment we are currently in.