Daily fantasy sports operator ThriveFantasy failed to secure enough investors for another round of funding, which could lead to the company disbanding, according to multiple sources.
For the last several months, social media has been full of reports from angry ThriveFantasy customers who say the fantasy sports app has not allowed them to withdraw their funds. At least some of those customers are allegedly owed five-figure balances.
Two sources told LSR the funding failure could lead to ThriveFantasy shuttering.
“They couldn’t get enough folks on board and now they’re probably done,” one source told LSR.
ThriveFantasy CEO goes silent
The company secured $8.4 million total as of October 2023, the last time it attempted to raise capital, according to an investor deck obtained by LSR. That was a few weeks before the first posts about withdrawal issues.
ThriveFantasy CEO Adam Weinstein has not responded to multiple inquiries from LSR since the initial report of customer frustrations on Jan. 8.
In emails to customers, Weinstein blamed the issue on fraud. Some customers have reported partial payouts since then.
No funding rounds in more than a year
Pitchbook lists ThriveFantasy’s most recent investors as Bullpen Capital, Correlation VC, Gaingels, New York Angels and Andover Ventures.
Each contributed to a $4 million Series B close in November 2022, ThriveFantasy’s third and final funding round. It was intended to grow the company’s player-focused DFS pick’em offering ahead of the 2022–2023 NFL betting season.
None of the firms could be reached for comment.
ThriveFantasy sought larger customer pool through DFS
Part of Thrive’s pitch to investors was it could reach a much larger pool of customers through fantasy sports than sportsbooks could. It had targeted profitability by Q3 2024.
It was one of several DFS companies to exit New York after the recent NFL season, nearly three months after rules banning pick’em took effect. Over the last year, nearly a dozen states have enacted similar restrictions.
ThriveFantasy is available in 30 states, according to the terms and conditions page on its website.
DFS app that blamed fraud ceases operations
No House Advantage, another pick’em operator, was subject to similar withdrawal issues last year, which it also attributed to fraud.
NHA ceased operations last August after failing to find a buyer.
Betr, the nascent fantasy and betting company backed by Jake Paul, would eventually take control over NHA’s leftover user database, assuming responsibility for the outstanding balances, according to a LinkedIn post from CEO Joey Levy.
