
DraftKings going public via reverse merger - notlukesky
https://www.axios.com/draftkings-going-public-via-reverse-merger-9fcf2848-c835-4cad-b4a6-0c6cf1941b1f.html
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gregdoesit
Sometime in 2010, I met the founder of FanDuel, who did a soft pitch on the
company and the upside. I briefly contemplated applying.

A few years later, as the company rose to unicorn status, I was wondering if I
should have done so. After the massive fall and the takeover that left the
founder CEO with nothing but a lawsuit[1], I am now again padding myself on
the back for not pursuing this.

The FanDuel / Draftkings story is now a cautionary tale of taking too much VC
money with too little organic/non-purchased growth in my books.

[1] [https://www.businessinsider.com/fanduel-founders-likely-
to-l...](https://www.businessinsider.com/fanduel-founders-likely-to-lose-out-
from-paddy-power-acquisition-2018-7)

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weego
DK / FD have been a mess since the failed merger. Having a competitive duopoly
pushed their marketing budgets through the roof and CPA ran miles ahead of
per-customer lifetime worth.

This $400 million really isn't much of a lifeline based in their historical
burn rates.

As for SBTech, they're really not that interesting, just a platform vendor

As for the valuation, I mean that seems to have come about via rattling pig
bones doused in goat blood. A fund that can only just cover the claimed cash
injection of the deal, DK had upto 60% wiped off after a $2billion valuation
and a tech vendor to some medium size casinos.

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brianwawok
Online gambling is recently legal in Indiana I guess? So much advertising.
Offers of matching $500 credit if I open an account and make one bet. Almost
worth just making a few silly bets and then taking out my money, relieving the
VCs of a little money?

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CosmicShadow
Most, if not all, gambling sites have restrictions such as rollovers that
prevent you from doing this.

An example explanation from
[https://www.sportsbettingdime.com/guides/bonuses/explained/](https://www.sportsbettingdime.com/guides/bonuses/explained/)

"Understanding rollover with an example might help. Let’s say that you deposit
$250 to a sportsbook that is offering a 50% bonus with a 5x rollover. This
means that you’ll have $375 to bet with, but can’t withdraw the bonus money
until you’ve placed $1,875 ((250+125)x5) in bets."

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brianwawok
On pure coin flips, a 5x rollover of a double my initial fund still has a
positive EV right? Though it won’t be as good as someone without a rollover.

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rolltiide
Only IPOs where banks give all the money to the company and try to push shares
onto all of our 401ks get respect around here, but more companies should
consider public market exposure this way

