The Walt Disney Company now owns a stake in sports betting and fantasy sports operator DraftKings, a spokesperson has confirmed to Gambling Insider.

The development has been borne out of Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox; Fox originally purchased a stake in DraftKings as part of a funding round in 2015.

A DraftKings spokesperson said: "Disney now owns, through one of its subsidiaries, the prior 21st Century Fox interest in DraftKings as part of the purchase by Disney of 21st Century Fox."

It remains to be seen what approach Disney, which also owns sports broadcaster ESPN, takes with the gaming company moving forward.

In February, Disney CEO Bob Iger publicly suggested the company would not enter the gambling market.

The operator’s SVP of Fantasy Sports, Greg Karamitis, recently spoke to Gambling Insider about industry competition and its new daily fantasy sports product.