This is a subscriber-only article.

Save 20% on Entrepreneur+ during our Spring Growth Flash Sale

Use code SPRING20 at checkout.

Subscribe Now

Already have an account?

Sign in
Entrepreneur Plus - Short White
For Subscribers

Why This Fantasy Sports Company Is a Dream Come True for Fans Bigger, stronger, faster: FanDuel is fantasy sports on steroids.

By Jason Ankeny

This story appears in the June 2015 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »

Jo Hanley
Leagues of legends: FanDuel’s Nigel Eccles.

FanDuel is fantasy sports on steroids: bigger, stronger, faster. The New York City-based startup benches the familiar season-long league model embraced by millions of fantasy enthusiasts in favor of more lucrative daily and weekly competitions—a model perfectly attuned to the ADD-addled sensibilities of the Millennial generation.

Here's how FanDuel works: Like with fantasy football, baseball and basketball games hosted by ESPN, Yahoo and other brands, players assemble virtual teams of real-world sports stars. Gamers accumulate points based on how the players fare, determined by statistical measures like touchdowns, field goals and passing yards.

In traditional fantasy leagues, contestants draft their teams before the pro season, maintaining the same core roster for months. But FanDuel games last just one day or one week; on any given day, entrants can build new lineups based on whose performance is peaking or plummeting. FanDuel also offers gamers the choice of joining an existing league or creating their own. From there, they select an entry fee (up to $5,000) and the number of games or teams they wish to play. If their roster generates more points than their rivals on that day or week, they win all the money in the pot, minus FanDuel's average 9 percent cut.