Today’s Throwback Thursday: FanDuel
With the NFL and college football back in full swing, we’re launching our first-ever Throwback Thursday post—spotlighting a former unicorn that’s now become a game-changing company. First up: FanDuel.
FanDuel at a Glance
Founded in 2009, FanDuel transformed fantasy sports by pioneering the daily fantasy model. The daily fantasy model lets fans draft teams for a single game day, not an entire NFL season. It quickly became a household name in U.S. sports entertainment, rivaling DraftKings for DFS dominance.
The Unicorn Moment
Fueled by growth in daily fantasy sports, FanDuel achieved unicorn status in 2015 following a hefty Series E funding round, securing a valuation north of $1 billion.
Where It Stands Now
In 2018, then Paddy Power Betfair (now Flutter Entertainment) acquired a majority of FanDuel, eventually increasing its stake to 95% in 2020 via a $4.1 billion deal. Most recently, Flutter Entertainment bought out Boyd Gaming’s remaining 5% of FanDuel for $1.76 billion, gaining full control and valuing FanDuel at around $31 billion. This consolidation is projected to yield about $65 million in annual savings starting July 2025. Today, FanDuel is Flutter’s U.S. crown jewel, commanding roughly 43% of the U.S. online sports betting market and fueling Flutter’s rapidly growing quarterly revenue and margins.
Market Moves Since the Full Acquisition
Since closing the final buyout in late July, Flutter Entertainment’s (NYSE: FLUT) stock has climbed steadily—recently trading around $303, up significantly from its ~$205 level about a year ago, signaling strong investor confidence in the expanded FanDuel strategy. Notably, despite a brief pullback (~8%) following Q2 2025 earnings, the stock remains up about 8% year to date, buoyed by robust FanDuel-led performance such as a 16% revenue increase and 25% adjusted earnings growth in Q2.
In Summary
FanDuel may no longer be a private unicorn—but its epic trajectory from DFS pioneer to Flutter’s dominant U.S. platform makes it the perfect throwback success story. Just like a winning Hail Mary, its impact still echoes across the industry.