FanDuel raises $70M for daily fantasy sports

The round comes only a week after its competitor DraftKings raised $41 million

Daily fantasy sports are all the rage these days, it seems. Literally a week after daily fantasy website DraftKings raised $41 million in new funding, now one of its competitors has raised an even bigger round. 

FanDuel has raised $70 million in new funding, it was announced on Tuesday, more than quadrupling its total funding in one fell swoop. The round was led by Shamrock Capital, with participation from NBC Sports Ventures, KKR participating and existing investors Comcast Ventures, Pentech Ventures, Bullpen Capital, Scottish Enterprise, and serial investor Richard Koch.

The company had previously raised $18 million, most recently an $11 million round in January of 2013. This latest round brings the company’s total capital raised to $88 million. 

The New York-based FanDuel provides fantasy sports leagues that last just a single day, so players can play, and collect their winnings, sooner rather than having to wait an entire season. Players pay an entry fee for each contest in order to win cash prizes awarded to the player whose team generates the most fantasy points.

The company hosts fantasy leagues in sports that include football, baseball, hockey, basketball, college football and college basketball.

FanDuel says it will use the funds to build outs its teams in both New York and its office in Edinburgh, Scotland. It will currently has a total of 106 employees.

In addition, FanDuel will also use the funding to build out both its product and audience.

“This level of investment from Shamrock, NBC Sports, KKR and our existing investors is a testament to FanDuel’s leadership in the one-day fantasy sports industry and the growth potential within this space,” Nigel Eccles, CEO of FanDuel, said in a statement. “We couldn’t be more pleased to be able to make this announcement at the start of football season, as more users begin to embrace the one-day fantasy experience.”

Founded in 2009, FanDuel has been seeing "rapid growth" over the past year. It has over 12,000 leagues open every day, with over $10 million in real cash prizes paid out every week. The company says that it now represents 65% of the daily and weekly fantasy sports market, and that it expects to pay out more than $400 million to users this year. 

It also boasts partnerships with brands that include Yahoo, ESPN, CBS, NBC and the Orlando Magic

In addition to the new funding, it was also announced that the company will be adding two new members to its board of directors: Mike LaSalle, a partner at Shamrock Capital Advisors, and Alan Resnikoff, Principal at the firm. Also, it was revealed that Rick Cordella, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Digital Media at NBC Sports Group has joined as a board observer.

(Image source: fanduel.com)