FanDuel: Scaling to number 1 in the US market

FanDuel’s success story is one of explosive growth. From humble beginnings in Edinburgh to the number-one gaming giant in the US, it’s a true Scottish unicorn.

Bought by Flutter Entertainment in 2018, it offers sports betting, online casino games and fantasy sports across 37 US states. Not only is FanDuel the premier mobile gaming destination in North America, but it holds the title of #1 gaming operator and fastest-growing iGaming operator in the US.

Fan focused and technology led, FanDuel is only set for more future success.

We met FanDuel in 2020, alongside the acceleration of deregulation of gambling in the US.

Huge opportunities presented themselves. FanDuel was experiencing growth like never before. To meet its new business demands FanDuel had to scale at pace – but due to the “Great Resignation” it was facing staffing challenges, like many others.

The sheer volume of work required a mix of skills and technologies across the front end, back end and mobile.

One thing was clear: FanDuel needed more people on the ground. Teams of experts, set up to slot seamlessly into their existing ecosystem – and fast.

With rapid growth comes challenges. FanDuel needed an expert partner with the ability to scale at pace, meeting growth and demand potential head-on.

Our challenge involved:

• Delivering a long-term partnership that scaled the business from just three teams to over 12, providing over 100 consultants in 12 months

• Establishing teams of high-performing go-getters who matched FanDuel’s strong work ethic and ethos

• Integrating teams seamlessly, relieving the pressure and allowing FanDuel to focus on what it does best

Discover

First, we needed to understand the full scale of the operation. To start, FanDuel required three teams of 10 people to ramp up capacity and capability. By putting a sharp focus on outcomes and quality, we delivered the three teams in a record eight weeks, skyrocketing past FanDuel’s expectations. Our Embedded Teams were ready to activate when needed, and each one was tailored to a specific challenge. Each balanced team came with a multi-level structure, with exactly the right amount of seniority, quality and energy. We were also able to fit into the FanDuel leadership structure – so they didn’t have to scale their own internal teams, despite the significant increase in capacity.

Design

The quality and impact of our teams left FanDuel wanting more.

We had soon expanded to over 100 consultants, across 12 teams, all operating as an extension of FanDuel’s teams effortlessly, effectively and efficiently. Closely collaborating with FanDuel at every step resulted in a much-valued partnership based on mutual trust and respect. We took ownership of outcomes, team performance and people management, allowing FanDuel to focus on maximising its opportunities.

Deliver

Our partnership has been more successful than ever imagined.

We’re beyond thrilled to now work across FanDuel’s entire business, from Safer Gambling to the depths of Player Management, Sportsbook and Casino.

Our teams deliver high-performance back-end services, providing 24/7 coverage for new front-end web and mobile experiences for players. Our partnership now covers the end-to-end player experience across FanDuel’s entire estate.

We are humbled to say we are now the most experienced consultancy in the real-money gaming sector.

The explosive growth of FanDuel in 2020 was backed by our rapid-response teams, delivering capabilities and resources at unprecedented speed.

And our teams enjoyed the journey so much that some are still there – four years on. In 2022, we secured a multi-year partnership with FanDuel, meaning they have the ability to “switch on” teams when needed, and we look forward to more exciting collaborations in the years to come.