DraftKings delays UK launch until 2016; California DFS hearing no game changer

Daily fantasy sports operator DraftKings will delay its UK market launch until early 2016, according to a company spokesperson.

DraftKings received its UK Gambling Commission license in August and the company originally planned to launch its UK-facing site in October, but this was pushed back to December. On Wednesday, company spokesperson Pippa Hancock told Bloomberg Business that the launch had been pushed back again until “early next year.”

Hancock declined to specify what drove DraftKings to postpone its UK debut, but there are a couple easy theories. For one, the company is up to its neck in legal fees trying to stave off an ‘illegal gambling’ tag in New York, while the company is also presumably spending big lobbying bucks to head off similar legal issues in other states while bracing for the potential arrival of a federal indictment.

Combine those extra expenses with the fact that the DFS business has been contracting rapidly for two months now. While DraftKings and rival FanDuel are still posting positive margins, the NFL season is almost at its end, which will leave an activity void that basketball and hockey won’t be able to fill.