FanDuel is "considering whether to walk away" from its proposed merger with DraftKings in "light of a decision by the U.S. government to challenge the deal in court," according to Tony Romm of RECODE. FanDuel CEO Nigel Eccles said that the company is "still 'evaluating options.'" Asked whether the two DFS sites might abandon their plans or fight federal antitrust regulators, Eccles said, "All of those things are still on the table." FanDuel and DraftKings can "now choose to fight the federal government, amend the deal in some way or cancel their merger entirely." An initial scheduling conference is "slated to occur before an administrative judge at the FTC" on Friday. As FanDuel and DraftKings "weigh whether to continue as independent companies," Eccles "stressed that his daily fantasy sports site is 'still growing.'" Eccles and FanDuel “sought to promote their latest gambit -- daily fantasy golf -- with a mini-golf course set up on the seventh floor of Rockefeller Center.” FanDuel has “targeted other sports in recent months -- championship soccer and the WNBA -- and plans to introduce new, season-long, friend-focused fantasy football leagues” in ’17. Eccles: “We certainly feel that next year will be a break-even year for us” (RECODE.net, 7/11).
