Edinburgh’s FanDuel, the fantasy sports betting company has raised $11M of investment from a variety of venture capital funds including Scotland’s Pentech and Comcast Ventures, the VC affiliate of Comcast Corporation).
Other participants were existing investors , including Piton Capital, Bullpen Capital and Richard Koch.
The company plans to use the new funding to increase its teams in Edinburgh and New York, expand its user base, find new sports fans and increase payouts. The company has already expanded in 2012 from 20 people, to 40 people, globally.
In 2011, FanDuel paid out $10M in winnings to it’s players. In 2012 that figure grew to $50M. During the last American Football, NFL season, the company was paying out over $2M in winnings per week.
The company allows players to pick a team from a variety of professional sports leagues, including the National Football League, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association and National Hockey League. Players pick their fantasy team up to a certain salary cap and then based on real-world results from each athlete, points are awarded and the player(s) with the most points, wins. FanDuel promises players that they can compete and win, real money, on the same day, with prize money paid immediately after results are in.
While there are a number of fantasy sports game companies, mostly in the US, FanDuel has over 60% of the market and the new investment will allow the company to extend that lead over its competitors.
Congratulations to FanDuel. We’re looking forward to the high stakes action of the Scottish Premier League, any day…
