• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs

2

As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch

3

Mark Zuckerberg feeds his cows macadamia nuts and beer to create the 'highest-quality beef in the world' on his $300 million estate in Hawaii

1

Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs

2

As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch

3

Mark Zuckerberg feeds his cows macadamia nuts and beer to create the 'highest-quality beef in the world' on his $300 million estate in Hawaii
Tech

Yahoo is making fast progress in daily fantasy sports

By
Daniel Roberts
Daniel Roberts
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Daniel Roberts
Daniel Roberts
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 12, 2015, 4:25 PM ET
Operations At The Yahoo! Inc. Data And Customer Center Ahead Of Earnings
A Yahoo! fantasy football jersey hangs next to a workspace in the Global Service Desk area of the the company's Lockport Data Center in Lockport, New York, U.S., on Friday, Sept. 26, 2014. Yahoo Inc., a $40 billion Web portal, is expected to release third quarter earnings on Oct. 21. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesPhotograph by Bloomberg via Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

While private tech startups DraftKings and FanDuel are the early leaders in the “daily” subset of the fantasy sports industry, Yahoo, this football season, jumped in for the first time with its own daily platform. The move was an interesting one when compared to the strategy taken by ESPN, another leader in traditional season-long fantasy football. While ESPN chose to partner up with DraftKings, Yahoo built its own daily platform in-house.

New data shows that Yahoo’s strategy is working.

On Sunday, October 11, according to researcher SuperLobby, Yahoo became the first daily-fantasy platform apart from DraftKings and FanDuel to post a positive fees-to-prizes ratio, meaning that it brought in more in entry fees than it paid out in prizes.

That’s an important milestone that shows Yahoo is quickly growing its daily product, even though it was late to the daily fantasy market (FanDuel has been around since 2009; DraftKings launched in 2012). If you ask David Copeland, CEO of SuperLobby, Yahoo “is clearly the third force in daily fantasy sports right now.” It helped that Yahoo reduced its guaranteed prize pool from $1 million the week before to about $750,000. Critics could say that the reduction diminishes the positive gain, but Copeland says, “To me that shows how well Yahoo knows their market and are able to optimize their contests. People can pretend to avoid the signs, but Yahoo is strong and getting stronger. The securing of the number 3 position in next to no time with almost zero spend on marketing suggests they are cruising.”

To be sure, Yahoo is still much smaller than the two billion-dollar “unicorns” vying to differentiate themselves from each other. It is a distant No. 3: DraftKings brought in $25 million in entry fees on October 11, while FanDuel brought in $20.6 million; Yahoo brought in $1.3 million. But that was more than any other of the 10 daily fantasy platforms that SuperLobby tracked. (All 10 are in the table below.) In addition to offering its own daily product, Yahoo sells adds to competitors on its own season-long fantasy app. In other words, Yahoo wins either way: even if you try DraftKings because you saw a banner ad for it in your Yahoo app, DraftKings paid Yahoo for the placement.

Data from SuperLobby

One caveat: SuperLobby warns that its data is “subject to error.” Some daily fantasy sites report its data directly to SuperLobby; for the others, the company uses “publicly available sources plus our own technology.”

The most significant revelation from this data, apart from Yahoo’s gains, is that both DraftKings and FanDuel brought in more money than they ever did in the past—in other words, the major scandal over a DraftKings employee playing (and winning) on FanDuel actually helped the two companies. Existing users spent more on the two sites than ever before.

Entry fees are a good indicator of growth. But it would be even more interesting to see the numbers for new user signups in the last week—that would show whether the scandal also helped these companies recruit new customers. SuperLobby doesn’t track new user signups—only the companies themselves have that information, and neither would share with Fortune new user signups from the last week. However: DraftKings told Fortune it had more than 220,000 new users sign up in just the first week of the new NFL season.

 

Last Sunday, Yahoo was still paying out more in prizes than it brought in: $1.17 out for every $1 in entry fees. This Sunday, it gave 98 cents in prizes for every $1 in entry fees.

Yahoo’s platform is still young, and existing daily fantasy enthusiasts may feel that DraftKings and FanDuel are the better options simply because they’re the experts, in a sense: their entire reason for being is daily fantasy, while Yahoo is a major tech giant that offers a whole host of products. But Paul Charchian, president of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, thinks Yahoo is a major threat just by dint of its size and scope: “They’ve got easy, cheap access to so many existing users that they don’t need to make the same dramatic marketing spend,” he says. “That’s a huge advantage. And depending on whom you believe, Yahoo has the most—or tied for the most with ESPN—existing fantasy users.”

Take note, DraftKings and FanDuel.

About the Author
By Daniel Roberts
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

2
Commentary250 Years of Innovation
America’s secret weapon isn’t just innovation — It’s the freedom to fail
By Keith KrachJuly 3, 2026
2 hours ago
A $75 billion valuation, 75 million global customers and on its way to America—Revolut is London’s disruptor extraordinaire
EuropeLetter from London
A $75 billion valuation, 75 million global customers and on its way to America—Revolut is London’s disruptor extraordinaire
By Kamal AhmedJuly 3, 2026
2 hours ago
Man in a black hat and jacket
InvestingSpace Exploration
Elon Musk can’t sell a single SpaceX share for a year—and then all the locks crack open at once
By Amanda GerutJuly 3, 2026
2 hours ago
Microsoft’s next big bet isn’t on a model but on becoming the Swiss Army knife of enterprise AI
AIMicrosoft
Microsoft’s next big bet isn’t on a model but on becoming the Swiss Army knife of enterprise AI
By Sheryl Estrada and Sebastian HerreraJuly 3, 2026
4 hours ago
Those bots sending discounts to your email is dynamic pricing in action. Get revenge on those bots by abandoning your cart
RetailConsumer Spending
Those bots sending discounts to your email is dynamic pricing in action. Get revenge on those bots by abandoning your cart
By Catherina GioinoJuly 3, 2026
4 hours ago
z
AIdisruption
Meet the Zillennials: The luckiest micro-generation in the workforce, born between 1993 and 1998
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 3, 2026
5 hours ago

Most Popular

Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs
Law
Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs
By Wyatte Grantham-Philips and The Associated PressJuly 2, 2026
18 hours ago
As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch
Big Tech
As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJuly 1, 2026
2 days ago
Mark Zuckerberg feeds his cows macadamia nuts and beer to create the 'highest-quality beef in the world' on his $300 million estate in Hawaii
Success
Mark Zuckerberg feeds his cows macadamia nuts and beer to create the 'highest-quality beef in the world' on his $300 million estate in Hawaii
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 2, 2026
19 hours ago
Current price of oil as of July 2, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of July 2, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 2, 2026
22 hours ago
Americans are escaping the U.S. for New Zealand where house prices have hit a new low—but only wealthy Americans with $3 million spare can invest
Success
Americans are escaping the U.S. for New Zealand where house prices have hit a new low—but only wealthy Americans with $3 million spare can invest
By Emma BurleighJuly 2, 2026
21 hours ago
Economists have found an answer to slowing cognitive decline: Avoid retiring early, study finds
Economy
Economists have found an answer to slowing cognitive decline: Avoid retiring early, study finds
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 2, 2026
20 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.