When DraftKings swooped in with a late effort to snatch the U.S. operations of PointsBet from Fanatics, it felt like there was more to the story.
And there reportedly is.
Via Josh Kosman of the New York Post, DraftKings and Fanatics nearly merged two years ago, at a time when each company was valued at $24 billion. Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin, per the report, walked away from the potential deal late in the process. DraftKings CEO Jason Robins, per the report, has held a grudge ever since.
Meanwhile, a plunge in DraftKings stock has resulted in the company’s valuation falling to $11.5 billion.
DraftKings denies that the current effort to buy PointsBet flows from personal animosity between Robins and Rubin.
“To suggest that there is an ulterior motive that is personal and not business related is irresponsible and not grounded in reality,” a DraftKings spokesman told Kosman.
Fanatics declined comment to the Post.
The drama is worth monitoring for NFL fans, given the massive influence the sports betting companies already have and will continue to have over the league. Money talks, and the sports books have been shouting out loud for a while now.
Eventually, however, money (along with duties to shareholders) will compel these companies to make the biggest profit possible. That eventually requires getting more and more people to bet more and more money, because the house always wins.
And more betting from more people only accelerates that victory.
