US daily fantasy sports (DFS) firm DraftKings has confirmed its interest in launching its gaming services in Ireland. According to the Irish publication Fora, the American fantasy sports giant has set its sights on the island to expand its portfolio over the coming months.
Speaking to the local media, DraftKings Chief International Officer Jeffrey Haas announced the company’s plans to roll out its gaming services before the end of the year. However, he declined to give any further information surrounding investment figures .
“There’s no relevant, local regulation that covers our activities. So, we wanted to speak with Irish Revenue in respect to their tax review to explain our position and how we intend to enter into the market. Let’s see how our (Irish) business becomes established and grows over time,” Haas concluded.
News comes a few weeks after its rival FanDuel announced its exit from the UK market. Late in July, in an e-mail sent to current players, the company said that it will not be offering its services for the forthcoming season, with a full refund being offered to its clients. The shock announcement came after FanDuel has only launched back in August 2016 after striking a partnership deal with sports data provider Opta.
FanDuel and DraftKings had been linked to a promising merger last year, which this combination between the two gaming conglomerates would have controlled over 90% of the US market for paid daily fantasy sports contests. However, a month after the FTC announced its monopoly concerns, the companies decided to call it quits.
Now, the two major DFS operators have decided to take two different paths: Fanduel will shortly exit the UK market, whilst DraftKings expands its services to Ireland.
