DraftKings is no longer offering daily fantasy sports in the United Kingdom as of last Friday.
The company added a page to its help section announcing the change.
“DraftKings has determined that it is in the best interests of the company to discontinue operations in Great Britain,” the site said.
DraftKings posted $3.7 billion in revenue for 2023. Business outside of the United States accounted for $69.8 million of that, or 1.9% of total revenue.
Why did DraftKings leave UK?
The decision to end the UK offerings came down to business optimization, according to a company spokesperson Monday.
“DraftKings will no longer be offering daily fantasy contests in Great Britain, and this decision was made as part of our ongoing efforts to optimize our business,” the spokesperson said. “We are grateful to all our customers across Great Britain and are committed to ensuring a smooth transition.
“Moving forward, we will continue to focus on growth and delivering value in other key markets, including U.S. sports betting.”
DraftKings ran UK DFS for 8 years
DraftKings launched daily fantasy sports in the United Kingdom in February 2016.
That came at a pivotal time for the company. While 2015 included signing significant deals with Major League Baseball and ESPN, the end of 2015 into 2016 was full of concerns over the legality of DFS in multiple states including New York.
The UK launch, which came after the NFL betting season despite receiving its license in August the prior year, gave the company another market to tap into for cash flow.
When they almost made a $22B UK bet
DraftKings took a swing at expanding its international reach in September 2021 when it offered $22 billion in cash and stock to buy Entain. The thought behind the deal was to better equip the US-focused company to compete with FanDuel parent Flutter, a more diversified operator with a significant international footprint.
“DraftKings will continue to engage in discussions between both companies and to conduct more substantive due diligence and analysis regarding its possible offer,” an October 2021 release said. “DraftKings looks forward to exploring potential benefits that could derive from this possible combination for its and Entain’s shareholders, including:
- Expansion into regulated and regulating markets
- Accelerated product growth
- Innovation in new and existing verticals”
The two engaged in conversations but DraftKings eventually said a week later that it would not make a firm offer for the company.
