Underdog Fantasy Criticizes FanDuel and DraftKings’ Dominance

Since the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act’s (PASPA) repeal by the Supreme Court in 2018, a statewide expansion of sports betting began. While wagering on sports was just starting at the time, daily fantasy sports (DFS) also known as fantasy sports contests, were already popular across the US. The innovative activity captured the attention of passionate sports fans but that also helped create a highly competitive market, just like within the sports betting vertical.

Underdog Fantasy is known as one of the fastest-growing sports companies in the US. Backed by a team of seasoned veterans within the sports vertical, the company was founded in 2020 and continues to expand, delivering unique and innovative experiences for sports aficionados. But while Underdog seeks to grow and expand its presence, delivering its fantasy sports contest to new clients, the company is up against strong competition, its owner wrote in a recent letter.

Jeremy Levine, Underdog’s co-CEO and founder, released a statement to the company’s clients, claiming that it faces strong competition from the sports betting giants, DraftKings and FanDuel. He claimed that through lobbying, the two companies helped develop laws related to sports betting that make it difficult for competitors, innovators or brand-new companies to penetrate the sector. Underdog’s co-CEO claimed that those laws helped FanDuel and DraftKings establish a duopoly model that enabled them to capture close to 80% of the regulated sports betting market in the US.

“When the Supreme Court later permitted states to legalize sports betting, DraftKings, FanDuel, and their lobbyists went to work. But this time they wrote laws designed to make it hard for innovators to break into the brand-new sports betting industry. The strategy worked and they had a near instant monopoly, capturing nearly 80% of the US sports betting market,“

reads a statement released by Jeremy Levine, Underdog’s co-CEO and founder

The Fight Continues

Moreover, Levine criticized the two behemoths, claiming that they wanted to stop their competitors, including the ones venturing into the fantasy sports sector. “FanDuel and DraftKings have constructed a disingenuous narrative that our fantasy sports contests are illegal,” he wrote. However, Levine added that the duo is losing this fight with the regulators because their claims contradict the existing fantasy sports framework, which according to him, they helped establish.

“DraftKings and FanDuel want to prevent you from playing the fantasy sports you love. They want to quash competition in fantasy and stop innovation, and potential rivals, in sports betting. Unable to innovate with new sports games, FanDuel and DraftKings are trying to ensure fantasy sports are limited to a very narrow category of games,“

added Levine

Another important point raised by Levine claimed that FanDuel and DraftKings seek to prevent sports fans from engaging in fantasy sports. Still, he vowed that Underdog would continue to expand, delivering new and thrilling DFS solutions that cater to sports fans that want to engage in such activities instead of wagering through sportsbooks.

Levine outlined that Underdog cares about sports fans and continues to prove this by bringing innovation that helps elevate the excitement for them. Finally, he predicted that the company would continue this fight and win it, delivering new thrills and experiences for fans of different sports across the US.