A major scandal is erupting in the multibillion-dollar industry of fantasy sports, the online and unregulated business in which players assemble their fantasy teams with real athletes. On Monday, the two major fantasy companies were forced to release statements defending their businesses’ integrity after what amounted to allegations of insider trading, that employees were placing bets using information not generally available to the public. The statements were released after an employee at DraftKings, one of the two major companies, admitted last week to inadvertently releasing data before the start of the third week of N.F.L. games. The employee, a midlevel…

Daily fantasy sports operator DraftKings has further strengthened its presence in the NFL American football league by securing sponsorship deals with 12 more teams in the competition. The Minnesota Vikings is so far the only franchise to have confirmed itself as one of the 12 teams to be covered by the deal, with the identity of other teams yet to be revealed. In a statement, the Vikings said the deals will enable DraftKings to offer exclusive fantasy games and money-can’t buy experiences to NFL fans. DraftKings will also benefit from in-stadium branding and online extensions on each team’s digital platform….

Canadian online gambling operator Amaya Gaming has officially launched its new daily fantasy sports site StarsDraft.com. Amaya acquired DFS operator Victiv last month and previewed its intention to eventually rebrand the outfit as StarsDraft. Now, on the same day that Tom Brady learned he’d be suiting up for the Patriots when the NFL season kicks off next Thursday, Victiv players learned they’d now be picking NFL lineups on StarsDraft. StarsDraft has reassured players that Victiv’s original management will continue to operate the site but the site is “in the process of integrating the operational expertise of Amaya/PokerStars through many areas…

Jason Robins, chief executive of DraftKings, has denied suggestions that the daily fantasy sports operator could launch a sportsbook service as part of its wider offering. As reported by iGaming Business, US-based DraftKings this week confirmed it had secured a licence to begin operating in the UK. While the US has a very limited sports betting market, with such services only legal in the state of Nevada, the UK offers an open market. Following the confirmation of DraftKings’ licence in the UK, some reports had suggested that the company could launch a sportsbook of its own in an effort to…

News broke recently that DraftKings, the US daily fantasy sports (DFS) operator, has opened up a new office in London in order to take advantage of its new gaming licence. Daily fantasy sports betting has become a booming industry in the US in recent months and now the industry is looking towards the UK. As it stands, the DFS market is generating more than $2.5 billion each year in the US and when the main players begin to migrate over to the UK that figure will increase dramatically. Naturally, as DFS become more of a “thing” in the UK, sports fans will…

Daily fantasy sports operator DraftKings has moved to enhance its presence in the US professional sports market by entering into partnerships with three more teams in the NFL American football league. The company has signed multi-year agreements with the Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs. Under each deal, the terms of which were not disclosed, DraftKings will open branded fantasy sports lounges at each of the teams’ home stadiums. The lounges at the Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium, the Patriots’ Gillette Stadium and the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium will open in time for the start of the 2015 NFL season,…