DRAFT
Best mobile apps in the industry, and allow players to do snake-drafts -- just like what you do at the start of your season long fantasy league - whenever they want, for real money.
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| - | investor investor investor | €0.0 | round |
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$48.0m Valuation: $48.0m | Acquisition | ||
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
DRAFT was a daily fantasy sports (DFS) operator that positioned itself as a more casual-friendly alternative to the dominant players in the market. The company was founded by Jeremy Levine, a seasoned entrepreneur in the fantasy sports space who had previously founded StarStreet and sold it to DraftKings in 2014. Levine, along with his co-CEO Jordan Fliegel, aimed to address what they saw as a gap in the market for a mobile-first, user-friendly DFS experience. Fliegel, founder of CoachUp.com, brought his own entrepreneurial experience to the venture, and the two had been friends since Little League.
The core of DRAFT's business was a departure from the salary cap model popularized by competitors like FanDuel and DraftKings. Instead, DRAFT focused on a snake draft system, a format familiar to traditional season-long fantasy players. This approach was designed to be more accessible and less intimidating for casual fans who might be overwhelmed by the complex algorithms and hardcore user base of other platforms. The business generated revenue through entry fees for its fantasy contests, where users could compete for cash prizes. The platform was initially launched as a mobile-only app called PlayDraft.com, emphasizing a quick and easy drafting process.
A significant milestone for DRAFT occurred in May 2017 when it was acquired by the Ireland-based bookmaker Paddy Power Betfair. The deal was valued at up to $48 million, with an initial payment of $19 million and the remainder contingent on performance. This acquisition provided DRAFT with substantial capital for marketing and expansion, allowing the company to increase its presence in a U.S. market estimated to be worth $300 million at the time. Following the acquisition, the company secured the highly coveted domain name Draft.com. Despite the acquisition, Levine and Fliegel continued to lead the company's operations. Ultimately, in December 2019, DRAFT announced it would cease its own contests and merge into the FanDuel platform, which had also been acquired by the same parent company, now known as Flutter Entertainment. Keywords: daily fantasy sports, snake draft, mobile gaming, sports betting, fantasy football, Paddy Power Betfair, FanDuel, Jeremy Levine, Jordan Fliegel, StarStreet, DFS, fantasy sports acquisition, online gaming, sports entertainment, cash prize contests, mobile-first gaming, fantasy sports platform, player drafts, casual gaming, sports market.