NBA franchise owner invests in fantasy sports firm

Multi-billionaire US entrepreneur and Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban continued this week to show an interest in the daily fantasy and e-sports sector, investing for an undisclosed stake in Fantasy Labs Inc., a daily fantasy sports company focused on proprietary DFS data, tools, and analytics.

Confirming his interest, Cuban commented to Business Insider:

“The explosive growth of fantasy sports, and its involvement with new categories of competition like eSports, increase the need for high-end resources like the platform offered by Fantasy Labs. I’m excited to be involved with a company that is working to advance an industry that is poised for huge growth.”

Founded last year by two professional DFS players, Peter Jennings and Jonathan Bales, Fantasy Labs allows players to leverage its ‘massive database of stats and information’ to create their own models, design specific player trends, and build winning DFS line-ups.

Business Insider reports that Jennings is a two-time DFS world champion and the winner of DraftKings’ first $1 million fantasy baseball tournament, and that Bales has won hundreds of thousands of dollars playing DFS, and has written for the New York Times. Both are DraftKings Analysts.

In a company statement Thursday, Bales said:

“Mr. Cuban’s belief in the future of daily fantasy sports, and its ability to positively enhance the viewing experience for fans, make this an ideal partnership for Fantasy Labs. This new funding will allow us to enhance our product offerings to create the best possible experience for our customers and the rapidly growing population of fantasy sports players.”

Nearly 57 million people played fantasy sports in the United States and Canada in 2015, according to industry demographics from the Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA).

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