SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
During yesterday’s 2014 earnings call Amaya Gaming CEO David Baazov indicated that the company was exploring entry into the burgeoning US fantasy sports market. Baazov indicated that Amaya views a great cross over fit between Poker and daily fantasy sports consumers.
Baazov stated that the company would look to launch fantasy sports operations by the second half of 2015, targeting the start of the new NFL season.
commenting on potential fantasy sports product Baazov said
“We have also taken the strategic decision to enter the daily fantasy sports category and are pursuing parallel tracks of internal development and strategic acquisition. The goal is to be up before the NFL season starts”
“We clearly see a strong demand for it … a lot of the U.S. players that were formerly PokerStars players would like to see us launch fantasy sports. We expect to provide more details on this strategy in the second half of 2015 but see a clear crossover from poker and daily fantasy sports.”
The Amaya CEO comments will raise speculation as to whether the Toronto listed igaming operator will push for a further corporate acquisition. Market leaders Fanduel and DraftKings are thought to be potentially valued at more than $1 billion.
Baazov noted that he did not believe that any of the third party daily fantasy sports networks could support the volume that Amaya Gaming brands would bring
