FanDuel went from a Scottish prediction market startup to the largest sports betting app in the United States. It got there by surviving a $275M advertising war with DraftKings, a Supreme Court ruling that changed the entire regulatory landscape, and an acquisition by an Irish gambling giant. It is now profitable and the category leader. The Edinburgh origins are genuinely surprising.
Founded
2009
HQ
New York, NY (Edinburgh, Scotland origin)
Total Raised
Part of Flutter Entertainment (LSE: FLTR)
Founder
Nigel Eccles, Lesley Eccles, Tom Griffiths, Rob Jones, Chris Stafford
Status
Market leader in US online sports betting — #1 by revenue in most months since 2022
Website
fanduel.comTHE ORIGIN STORY
Five Scottish tech founders launched FanDuel in Edinburgh in 2009, initially as a prediction market and stock market-style sports game. They pivoted to daily fantasy sports — one-day contests with cash prizes — and moved to New York.
The model thrived in the legal gray area that treated daily fantasy as a game of skill, not gambling. FanDuel and DraftKings spent 2015–2017 in an advertising arms race that burned through hundreds of millions of dollars — both were spending more on marketing than they were making in revenue.
The Supreme Court's 2018 ruling legalizing sports betting was the industry reset: FanDuel was acquired by Flutter Entertainment (the Irish gambling giant behind Paddy Power Betfair) and relaunched as a full sportsbook. It became the US market share leader.
WHAT THEY ACTUALLY DO
FanDuel earns revenue through the hold on sports bets — the percentage of all wagered money it keeps after paying out winners. In a competitive market it also pays out promotional free bets and bonuses to acquire customers, which means early operations in a new state are almost always loss-making.
The long-term revenue model depends on customers who stay active and bet regularly without always winning.
THE PRODUCTS
FanDuel Sportsbook (legal US sports betting, mobile and web), FanDuel Daily Fantasy Sports, FanDuel Casino (online casino in select states), FanDuel TV (sports content channel)
HOW THEY GREW
FanDuel leveraged Flutter's global bookmaking expertise — pricing, risk management, and technology built from decades of European sports betting. It partnered with the PGA Tour, NFL, NBA, and MLB for branding and data rights.
Its media partnerships (with NBC Sports, then others) gave it mainstream advertising reach. It was consistently first or tied-first into each new state that legalized sports betting.
THE HARD PART
Acquiring sports bettors is expensive. The industry standard is to offer massive "risk-free bet" promotions to new sign-ups — sometimes $1,000 free first bet guarantees.
Each new state legalization requires a new marketing blitz and operating losses before the customer base matures. FanDuel became profitable on an aggregate basis for the first time in 2023 after years of state-by-state losses.
MONEY TRAIL
Series A
2012 · Led by Comcast Ventures, KKR
$11M raised
Series D
2015 · Led by KKR, NBC Sports, Bullpen Capital
$275M raised
Acquisition
2018 · Led by Flutter Entertainment (Paddy Power Betfair)
$0 raised
WHO BACKED THEM
KKR, Bullpen Capital, Comcast Ventures, NBC Sports, Piton Capital, Flutter Entertainment (acquisition)
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