DraftKings, a US-based daily fantasy sports platform backed by a host of corporate investors, has raised $153m in new funding, Fortune reported yesterday.
Growth equity firm Revolution Growth led the round, according to TechCrunch, and Steve Murray, a partner at the firm, will take a board seat at the company.
Multiple sources told Fortune that DraftKings closed the funding at a “substantially lower” valuation than the reported $2bn post-money valuation at which it raised $300m in July 2015.
DraftKings operates a fantasy sports platform that enables users to enter daily or weekly competitions with each other for cash prizes. It is expected to invest the money on television advertising and ongoing regulatory issues surrounding its similarity to betting which have sharply affected its business.
DraftKings has been banned in the states of New York and Minnesota in the past year and will have to compete with heavier taxes and restrictions.
The company is facing similar cases in Texas and Illinois, and rumours in June suggested it could merge with rival FanDuel to create a single, larger entity better equipped to face such barriers.
The round takes DraftKings’ overall funding to about $530m, with Fox Sports, a sports broadcasting division of media group 21st Century Fox, leading the $300m series D round.
Professional sports leagues Major League Baseball, National Hockey League and Major League Soccer also invested in the 2015 round, along with conglomerate Kraft Group, Atlas Venture and Raine Group.
DraftKing’s earlier funding came from Raine Group, Atlas Venture, Redpoint Ventures, GGV Capital, BDS Ventures, Boston Seed Capital, Hub Angels and Angel Street Capital.