Mark Cuban has made another investment in the sports industry. Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sport
Jan 7, 2016
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban remains bullish on daily fantasy sports, despite the controversy surrounding the industry.
Daily fantasy sports analytics company Fantasy Labs announced Thursday that it has secured an investment from Cuban. The company provides subscribers with analytics, including player trends and Las Vegas odds, to develop and test models for creating fantasy lineups.
“The explosive growth of fantasy sports, and its involvement with new categories of competition like eSports, increases the need for high-end resources like the platform offered by Fantasy Labs,” Cuban said in a release announcing the deal. “I’m excited to be involved with a company that is working to advance an industry that is poised for huge growth.”
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
EDITOR’S PICKS
N.Y. wants DraftKings, FanDuel to return profits
The New York attorney general wants daily fantasy companies to return money they made in the state.
Cuban is also an investor in sports data company Sportradar, along withCharlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan and Washington Wizardsowner Ted Leonsis. Cuban’s investment in Fantasy Labs follows his recent comments to Fortune magazine. He told the magazine that fantasy sports “has made watching our games on TV more fun. Hopefully, the stupidity and hypocrisy in a few states will be cleared up in the courts shortly.”
Daily fantasy sports powerhouse operators DraftKings and FanDuel currently are in legal battles in New York and Illinois, with several additional states taking a close look at the industry, which has taken off in recent years.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver also remains in support of daily fantasy sports and traditional sports betting. “My view is that daily fantasy should be a regulated industry in New York and elsewhere, and I think ultimately that should be a decision for the voters,” Silver told FiveThirtyEight in December.
“It’s good to see Mark Cuban remain bullish on fantasy sports and eSports analytics,” Peter Jennings, co-founder of Fantasy Labs and an ESPN contributor, said.
