DraftKings pulls daily fantasy sports product from the UK market
New York-listed operator ends operations after almost nine years, following on from exits from Germany, Ireland and Malta in early 2023
DraftKings has announced that it will no longer be offering daily fantasy sports (DFS) contests in the UK, effective immediately.
After launching in the UK in February 2016, the Boston-based operator has opted to withdraw from its last-remaining European market.
In a community update, DraftKings said the choice was made to not only “optimise our business” but to continue focusing on growth and delivering value to key markets, including US sports betting.
DraftKings confirmed that live contest entries submitted before 4.30am GMT on 3 October would continue in the “ordinary course” and be settled in accordance with the company’s terms of use.
The DraftKings DFS contests will officially shut down today, 4 October.
In a statement released to EGR, a DraftKings spokesperson said: “DraftKings will no longer be offering daily fantasy contests in Great Britain, and this decision was made as part of our ongoing efforts to optimise our business.
“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 US sports betting.”
After the UK launch nearly nine years ago with the traditional salary cap format of contests, further expansion across Europe arrived months later, with the firm securing licences in Malta, Germany, Ireland and Austria in 2017.
However, in January 2023, DraftKings withdrew its DFS product from all European markets except the UK.
Speaking to EGR at the time, the US DFS, sports betting and icasino operator said the decision was made to “most effectively serve our rapidly growing North American sports betting customer base”.
Social media users on X have taken to the platform to voice their dismay with DraftKings’ decision to pack up shop in the UK.
Honestly, just awful news to wake up to. The withdrawal from the U.K. space for @DraftKings leaves users with virtually zero options for best ball, and of course DFS.
— Tom Strachan (@NFL_TStrack) October 4, 2024
For years I’ve played DFS every week & just as DK’s best ball contests got really good…pic.twitter.com/oRlK4zEAdD
UK player liquidity had been pooled with the North American customer base, yet DraftKings struggled to achieve cut-through in the UK market – despite partnering with Liverpool FC – while the DFS soccer product specifically only attracted a limited number of dedicated players in the UK.
Arch-rival FanDuel previously offered DFS to the UK market, yet the company pulled the product less than one year after launch, in 2017.
DraftKings players will be given until 3 June 2025 to withdraw funds, with the operator announcing all bonus funds including crowns, DK Dollars, contest tickets and achievements will be converted to cash.
The New York-listed operator reported its Q2 revenue increased to $1.1bn and adjusted EBITDA grew to $128m.
After launching in Washington DC at the end of July, DraftKings’ mobile sports betting operation is now live in 25 US jurisdictions.
The operator says its combined online sports betting and igaming market share sits at 29%.