Amaya eyes DraftDay acquisition, scales back Innova Group IPO plans

Canadian online gambling operator Amaya Gaming is reportedly interested in acquiring daily fantasy sports (DFS) operator DraftDay.

Earlier this month, MGT Capital Investments, which acquired DraftDay in April 2014 for around $600k plus stock options, revealed that it was looking to sell its new toy to take advantage of the current media frenzy around the DFS space. On Wednesday, eGR North America reported that Amaya was among the suitors kicking DraftDay’s tires.

DraftDay is among the also-rans – including FantasyAces and Victiv – vying for the #3 DFS operator ranking behind FanDuel and DraftKings. MGT is believed to be seeking up to $10m for DraftDay and MGT also wants to hold on to a 20% stake in the operation.

Last month, Amaya announced that it planned to have its own DFS offering in place in time for the new NFL season this September. Amaya said it was pursuing a dual strategy of both internal development and strategic acquisition, although it couldn’t help humble-bragging that it doubted there was a DFS platform on the market that could handle the volume of Amaya’s flagship PokerStars operation.