Amaya enters daily fantasy sports market via Vicitv acquisition
Victiv will rebrand to StarsDraft as Amaya Gaming looks to cash in on the lucrative daily fantasy sports market in the US
Amaya Gaming this morning announced it had entered the daily fantasy sports (DFS) sector after acquiring Texas-based operator Victiv for an undisclosed sum. [private]
The Montreal-based gaming giant said the current Victiv team would manage its new DFS business, which will be rebranded to StarsDraft.
The site will initially launch on StarsDraft.com in select US markets and will later be made available through the PokerStars platform.
StarsDraft.com will continue to use Victivâs platform which Amaya said had made the site âincreasingly popularâ among new players to the game since it launched in September last year.
âStarsDraft will combine Victivâs innovative platform and experienced DFS team with Amayaâs expansive consumer base and operational excellence as the worldâs preeminent online gaming brand,â Matthew Primeaux, Victiv CEO, said.
âWe intend to capitalise on what we believe is strong crossover between online poker players and daily fantasy sports,â he added.
Amaya first announced plans to enter the daily fantasy sports sector back in March, and the gaming giant was believed to be in talks to acquire DFS operator DraftDay for around $10m, but in the end an investment fund led by Sportech clinched the deal.
The daily fantasy sports market has enjoyed meteoric growth in recent years, with FanDuel and DraftKings leading the charge with a 95% share of the market between them.
Both operators have recently completed funding rounds for $275m and $300m respectively, valuing each firm at north of $1bn.