Q&A: Matt Primeaux, Victiv CEO
The Victiv co-founder on why now was the right time to sell his firm to Amaya Gaming, and how they arrived at the new name StarsDraft
Amaya Gaming yesterday ended months of speculation about its interest in the daily fantasy sports sector when it announced the acquisition of Victiv for an undisclosed sum and creating the new StarsDraft brand. [private]
With the egaming world now watching on closely to see how the PokerStars owner goes after the DFS market, Victiv co-founder and CEO Matt Primeaux tells eGR North America how he sees the future panning out.Â
Q: Congratulations on the Amaya deal. Why was now the right time to sell Victiv?
A: Our goal at Victiv has always been to build a better, more engaging daily fantasy sports experience. Our platform has matured tremendously since our September 2014 launch, and is at a stage where we feel truly confident in our abilities to convert and retain users. With Amaya, weâll be coupling the platform innovations of Victiv.com with the customer base and operational prowess of Amaya, the worldâs largest online poker site.
Q: Will the day to day running of the company change under Amaya? Has there been a staff restructure at all?
A: The current Victiv management and technology teams will oversee the StarsDraft.com business and product. We are currently increasing our operational capabilities via the integration of Amayaâs renowned customer support, security, and marketing teams.
Q: Amaya said it wonât invest heavily in marketing its DFS offering â how else will you look to drive growth?
A: The focus has been and will continue to be with a long-term mind-set. One of the great advantages for StarsDraft.com is the ability to leverage and cross-sell the one-in-10 US adults residing in Amaya’s database. While this market continues to mature, we want to build and grow effectively and efficiently. Through a strategy that utilizes the Victiv product and assets of Amaya, weâll be able to acquire meaningful market share.
Q: Which US markets will StarsDraft be available in? Any long-terms plans to expand into Europe?
A: Amaya owns the worldâs largest online poker site and holds gaming licenses globally, so weâre working to finalize a list of excluded states as part of our technology integration and migration to StarsDraft.com. For now, all game play will continue as it previously did on Victiv.com, which currently excludes Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana and Washington.
Q: Why was the name StarsDraft was chosen over DraftStars?
A: We worked through many potential alternatives with the Amaya branding and marketing teams. Ultimately, we wanted the Stars name to be front and center. Itâs the largest and most trusted name in gaming â it defines our goals here in daily fantasy sports, and thus, we wanted it to be the focal point of our brand.
Q: How do you see the DFS sector shaking out over the rest of the year?
A: Continued growth. The daily fantasy sports market is still in its infancy. As David Baazov mentioned on the Amaya Q2 earnings call, the space generated less than $100m in 2014 gaming revenues. While the remainder of 2015 will certainly be exciting, itâs the long-term weâre interested in.