FanDuel and DraftKings are not worth billions of dollars, according to industry figure

Both daily fantasy sports (DFS) operators continued to make headlines last week, as they were ordered to remove real-money operations from New York by the office of the state’s Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman.

As of Friday, FanDuel stopped accepting new deposits from New York players and said that it will pursue legal action, while DraftKings has asked for the Supreme Court of the State of New York to “bring an immediate halt to the Attorney General’s irresponsible, irrational, and illegal actions”.

FanDuel generated revenue of $57.3m for the full year 2014, more than four times the $14.2m generated the previous year, while DraftKings ‘ annual revenue ascended from $4m to $30m for the same period.

FanDuel and DraftKings are either worth $2bn or $0, depending on which day you read the paper.Bernard Marantelli

It has been widely reported that both companies are not profitable, however, potentially due to marketing spend.

Speaking at the Mobile and Tablet Gambling Summit Europe in London, Marantelli said there are contrasting views as to what the companies are worth.

Marantelli said: “FanDuel and DraftKings are either worth $2bn or $0, depending on which day you read the paper. In reality, they’re probably closer to $0 than $2bn.”

Marantelli also intimated that little can be read into Amaya’s decision to remove its real-money DFS services via its StarsDraft brand from a majority of US states.

He said: “I hope no-one from Amaya’s here, but they’re basically saying they’re withdrawing from states where they didn’t have business anyway.”

Amaya’s announcement came after the Nevada Gaming Control Board confirmed in October it has ruled that operators are not permitted to offer real-money DFS services in the state without being issued a licence to operate a sports pool.

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David Cook

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David Cook served as an editor and writer for Gambling Insider from 2018 to 2020, where he played a central role in shaping the publication’s editorial direction. He oversaw the creation and implementation of the broader editorial strategy for Gambling Insider and its related publications, managing the production of 30 print magazines annually while also contributing to the management of GamblingInsider.com and a weekly digital newsletter.

During his tenure, David led the publication’s largest editorial team to date, guiding its expansion and ensuring consistent, high-quality output across all channels. He also hosted and helped launch the GI Huddle podcast, a project he was proud to bring from concept to reality.

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