Fantasy sports websites DraftKings and FanDuel called off their proposed merger one month after the Federal Trade Commission sued to block it.
“Now that this added additional cost and time and distractions, it was the right time for us to take a step back and say, ‘Is this worth it?’” DraftKings CEO Jason Robins told the Wall Street Journal.
In 2015 New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman ordered the firms to stop doing business in the state, claiming it represented illegal gambling. A few months later, DrafKings decided to move out and sublease its office space at 400 Lafayette Street, where it had just signed a lease.
But in August, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a law allowing the firms to operate in New York.
FanDuel occupies a penthouse triplex at Rockrose Development’s 300 Park Avenue South, and has said it plans to stay put. [WSJ] — Konrad Putzier