• 4 October - DraftKings has closed its UK daily fantasy offers
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Users of the Draftkings app on this day received emails notifying them the product was being pulled from the market with immediate
effective.
DraftKings’ users were told they can withdraw funds after the closing date and in-game currencies like Crowns and DK Dollars would be
converted into US dollars.
“Since DraftKings’ launch in Great Britain, we have been proud to be a part of the country’s passionate
sports and daily fantasy sports fanbases,” the email read.
Responding to questions a DraftKings spokesperson said:”This decision was made as
part of our ongoing efforts to optimise our business.
“We are grateful to all our customers across Great Britain and are committed to ensuring a
smooth transition. Moving forward, we will continue to focus on growth and delivering value in other key markets, including US sports betting.”
It
launched in the UK on 5 February 2016, bringing with it a new, US-style of playing DFS. The Gambling Commission granted it a pool-betting licence to operate
locally and the operator signed a sponsorship deal with English Premier League football club Liverpool to promote its entry into the market.
The
product sought to provide fantasy players with access to tournaments featuring the NFL and other North American sports leagues, as well as UK football leagues,
the NBA and golf.
To strengthen its UK operations, DraftKings acquired the full player database of free-to-play DFS platform TransferKings in June
2016.
“We want to expand our audience in the United Kingdom and this is an effective way to reach an even larger group of passionate fantasy
football fans,” former DraftKings chief international officer Jeffrey Haas said at the time.
A UK office was opened in London to support the
rollout, although the office largely houses data science teams now.
DraftKings followed its UK launch with further expansion into Malta, Germany,
Austria and Australia in 2023.
Users took to Twitter this day to lament the loss of the DFS product, with one user noting the move left UK DFS players
“with virtually zero options”.
In May 2018, Yahoo also exited the UK DFS market, while FanDuel only managed a few months of operating its
product in the region back in 2016. |
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