FanDuel announces Bill of Rights for daily fantasy players
Darren RovellESPN Senior Writer
Ahead of the lucrative football season, daily fantasy site FanDuel is unveiling a player's Bill of Rights, targeting a new market, changing its look and moving away from solely focusing on the money that can be won.
The company announced sweeping changes Monday in an effort to regain confidence in the marketplace.
The Bill of Rights, among other things, promises fantasy players their money is protected, that they won't be playing against employees and offers a new feature that identifies experienced players, so players understand the skill level of their competition, especially in head-to-head situations.
"The last 12 months have been incredibly challenging," FanDuel CEO Nigel Eccles said. "There were a number of different ways people had us being killed off, but we are still here."
The site faced a tumultuous 2015 as attorneys general in several states ruled that daily fantasy sites constituted gambling and were, therefore, illegal. FanDuel currently does not offer contests for money in 11 states, including New York and Texas.
Eccles also said DFS sites received some criticism for their heavy advertising last year, which ran even during non-sports programming during the football season. FanDuel and DraftKings became the heaviest advertisers in television last fall. This year, FanDuel will spend less than half of what it spent on advertising in 2015, Eccles said.
Eccles also said the focus on winning money will shift this year to a concentration on using fantasy to bond with friends. To that end, the site will unveil a friends' mode that will enable friends to pick a group and play daily fantasy for a season with an appointed commissioner who sets the prize money.
Finally, the company has rebranded its look, changing its background from green and black to blue, which Eccles says is a more "social color." New to the site is also a shield in its logo, which Eccles said is meant to stand for trust.
Neither FanDuel nor DraftKings revealed its financials at the end of 2015, but Eccles said that FanDuel has yet to achieve a profit.
Darren RovellESPN Senior Writer
Ahead of the lucrative football season, daily fantasy site FanDuel is unveiling a player's Bill of Rights, targeting a new market, changing its look and moving away from solely focusing on the money that can be won.
The company announced sweeping changes Monday in an effort to regain confidence in the marketplace.
The Bill of Rights, among other things, promises fantasy players their money is protected, that they won't be playing against employees and offers a new feature that identifies experienced players, so players understand the skill level of their competition, especially in head-to-head situations.
"The last 12 months have been incredibly challenging," FanDuel CEO Nigel Eccles said. "There were a number of different ways people had us being killed off, but we are still here."
The site faced a tumultuous 2015 as attorneys general in several states ruled that daily fantasy sites constituted gambling and were, therefore, illegal. FanDuel currently does not offer contests for money in 11 states, including New York and Texas.
Eccles also said DFS sites received some criticism for their heavy advertising last year, which ran even during non-sports programming during the football season. FanDuel and DraftKings became the heaviest advertisers in television last fall. This year, FanDuel will spend less than half of what it spent on advertising in 2015, Eccles said.
Eccles also said the focus on winning money will shift this year to a concentration on using fantasy to bond with friends. To that end, the site will unveil a friends' mode that will enable friends to pick a group and play daily fantasy for a season with an appointed commissioner who sets the prize money.
Finally, the company has rebranded its look, changing its background from green and black to blue, which Eccles says is a more "social color." New to the site is also a shield in its logo, which Eccles said is meant to stand for trust.
Neither FanDuel nor DraftKings revealed its financials at the end of 2015, but Eccles said that FanDuel has yet to achieve a profit.
