Report: MLB, NBA divesting from daily fantasy sports
Major League Baseball and the NBA are in discussions to divest from daily fantasy sports, but will continue to partner with DraftKings and FanDuel, respectively, ESPN reported Thursday.
The financial details of the divestiture not disclosed.
MLB invested in 2013 in DraftKings, which became the league's "official daily fantasy game" in 2015. The NBA invested in FanDuel in 2014.
The repositioning comes at a time when sports leagues and fantasy companies are awaiting a ruling from the United States Supreme Court that could open the door for states outside of Nevada to legalize betting on team sports. DraftKings and FanDuel have expressed interest in the niche.
The NBA and MLB have been lobbying in states that are exploring legalized sports betting.
"We're not going to be part-owner of a bookmaker," MLB lawyer Bryan Seeley said during a committee hearing on sports betting in Missouri this month.
"This space is evolving and we saw the need to take a fresh look at the structure of our relationship," NBA spokesman Mike Bass told ESPN. "FanDuel has been, and will remain, a great partner. We have simply modified some of the components of our partnership."
FanDuel and DraftKings have raised hundreds of millions of dollars in investments and were each valued at more than $1 billion at their peak, the network reported.
--Field Level Media
