Two months after it pulled all of its daily fantasy sports (DFS) operations out of New York, Underdog Fantasy is back in the Empire State.
The operator announced on Thursday evening that it has relaunched its draft-style DFS games in the state. The fantasy game is now included under the terms of the company’s temporary DFS license within the state.
While draft games are back, neither the against-the-house or the P2P version of the Underdog pick’em product has returned to the state.
Underdog withdrew all DFS contests from New York in mid-March after a ruling from the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) determined that the products it was offering were not explicitly listed under its temporary license.
The operator inherited Synkt Games’ temporary license to offer DFS games in New York when it acquired that business in 2022.
As part of a settlement agreement, Underdog agreed to pay $18 million and leave the state after the NYSGC said that it felt the games Underdog were offering varied too greatly from the types of games Synkt asked to offer during its licensure process in 2016.
New York is finally sorting out a permanent licensing process for DFS after years of only temporary licenses being available for the vertical. Underdog has applied for a permanent DFS license in the state.
SBC Americas reached out to the NYSGC seeking comment and clarification on Underdog’s re-entry into the market but has yet to receive a response.
Underdog now valued at more than $1.2B
The New York re-entry comes after Underdog recently announced a new Series C funding round led by Spark Capital that lifts the company’s pre-money valuation to more than $1.2 billion.
The new funding is expected to exceed $100 million and has a first round close of $70 million. It raises Underdog’s valuation to around triple its Series B valuation of $485 million from 2022.
Underdog said the funding will primarily allow it to further invest in creating the best products for sports fans in the U.S. and continuing to bring top-tier talent into the company. CEO and Founder Jeremy Levine called the cash injection “a real accelerator” for its plans.
Underdog was founded in 2020 and boasts nearly four million customers across the U.S. Per the company, it is the fourth most downloaded sports gaming app in the U.S., combining the sports betting and fantasy sports verticals.
Around the time it exited New York in March, it confirmed it would roll out its peer-to-peer Champions Pick’em product in neighboring New Jersey and Delaware. Underdog also offers sports betting in some markets and Levine has declared his intention to enter Missouri when that state launches its market, slated to be on Dec. 1.
