Boom Fantasy acquires Draftpot and closes $2m funding round
Operator says new cash will allow it to offer bigger prize pools and develop new gameplay mechanics
Boom Fantasy has acquired rival DFS operator Draftpot and closed a $2m funding round, the operator announced Wednesday evening.
The acquisition included all the primary assets of Draftpot, including its user-base, technology and gameplay IP.
Boom said the deal, the financial details of which were not disclosed, would double its player base.
In the same announcement, Boom revealed it had closed a $2m Series Seed round led by Founders Fund’s FF Angel, with investment from “top executives and owners from ESPN and Major League Baseball”.
Boom said it will use the new funds for product advancements, including larger prize pools, new gameplay mechanics, and better customer support.
“Boom Fantasy was founded on a simple premise – that FanDuel and DraftKings just weren’t all that fun,” said the firm’s CEO Stephen Murphy.
“We knew we could create a better game that appealed to real sports fans – not just the high-volume professionals. We are excited to use these new funds to take our product to the next level.”
Boom Fantasy’s new round follows a small seed investment from Mark Pincus and other gaming angel investors in 2015. Boom offers a simplified version of DFS by posing a series of questions like: ‘Who will score more points tonight: LeBron James or Steph Curry?’
“Boom Fantasy is incredibly fun – both for diehard sports fans and for casual fans who want something to root for,” said Cyan Banister, a partner at Founders Fund who has previously made early-stage investments in Uber and SpaceX.
“This was the first fantasy sports company that I was truly excited about,” said Banister. “Boom Fantasy is poised to rapidly rise in an industry that has overcome regulatory scrutiny and expects substantial growth in the years ahead.”
The announcement comes just weeks after Paddy Power Betfair’s acquisition of Draft – another operator looking to take on the big two DFS companies with a more recreational take on the product.