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Strategic alliance marks FanDuel’s entry into the rapidly growing fantasy eSports market

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–September 24, 2015–

FanDuel Inc. (www.fanduel.com), the largest one-day fantasy sports operator, today announced it has acquired leading fantasy eSports platform, AlphaDraft. Marking its entry into the fantasy eSports market, FanDuel will leverage the partnership to enhance and expand core product offerings in order to further reach new sports fans while maximizing engagement.

With the best talent in the sports tech industry, FanDuel’s acquisition of AlphaDraft, the premier daily fantasy sports platform that seamlessly blends eSports, live streaming and fantasy sports contests, will bring the company’s employee base in-house to help create a one of its kind daily fantasy product specifically for eSports. This partnership marks the first time FanDuel will have a product for the eSports community.

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“With over 200 million people globally watching eSports, AlphaDraft gives those fans a way to engage with this burgeoning entertainment product that creates an enormous opportunity for us,” said Nigel Eccles, CEO and Co-founder, FanDuel. “This is sports for a new demographic, with very little crossover with what are considered traditional sports fans, and this acquisition gives us the ability to leverage the expertise of AlphaDraft’s team, while helping their efforts in customer acquisition and building awareness of this new industry. It’s a win-win.”

The acquisition of AlphaDraft continues FanDuel’s long-term strategy of acquiring top talent around the fantasy sports industry as it builds one of the finest fantasy products for players – all designed to enhance the sports experience. This comes on the heels of the acquisition of numberFire, the premier next generation sports analytics platform, and Kotikan, a leading mobile app developer.

“It is clear that FanDuel is committed to the fan community,” said Todd Peterson, CEO of AlphaDraft. “This pairing creates an incredible opportunity to drive the fantasy industry forward and create compelling products that will enhance all fan engagement.”

Investors in AlphaDraft to date include former NBA Commissioner David Stern, Melo7 Tech Partners, Metamorphic Ventures, WME, Upfront Ventures, IDG Ventures, Greycroft Partners, Freestyle Capital, KEC, Amplify.LA and others. eSports generated $ 612m in revenue last year and 13% of all live stream viewers are watching eSports. By 2017, the number of eSports fans is projected to come close to that of American football.

About FanDuel

FanDuel is the leading daily fantasy sports provider with the sole mission of making sports more exciting. Founded in 2009, FanDuel has redefined fantasy sports; offering a multitude of one-day game options for NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and college football and basketball, with new public and private leagues forming daily, ranging in size from two to thousands of players. FanDuel is the Official Partner of the NBA and has multiple deals with NFL and NBA teams, driving fan engagement, hosting numerous live events and creating once-in-a-lifetime experiences for sports fans throughout the year. Based in New York City with offices in Los Angeles, Orlando, Edinburgh and Glasgow, FanDuel has raised $ 363 million in funding from investors including KKR, Google Capital, Time Warner/Turner Sports, Shamrock Capital, NBC Sports Ventures, Comcast Ventures, Pentech Ventures, Piton Capital and Bullpen Capital.

About AlphaDraft

Founded in 2014, AlphaDraft is the premier online platform that seamlessly blends the highly popular worlds of eSports, live streaming and fantasy sports, with daily and weekly contests for cash and other real-world prizes. Members draft a new team every day without season-long commitments, and play against friends and other fans without having to create their own fantasy leagues. There is no purchase necessary to register, and AlphaDraft offers both free and paid contests. For more information, please visit www.AlphaDraft.com or follow us on Twitter at @AlphaDraft.