FanDuel co-founder Lesley Eccles resigns from board

The board of fantasy sports betting firm FanDuel has been halved by the firm's backers, as they tighten their grip on the business amid an ongoing restructuring, it has emerged.

FanDuel co-founder Lesley Eccles. Picture: Malcolm McCurrach

FanDuel co-founders Lesley Eccles and Tom Griffiths, its chief product officer, have resigned their board positions along with representatives of investors Pentech and NBC Sports Group.

It comes after the New York-headquartered business, which was founded in Edinburgh and where it still has offices, having to give a larger slice of its equity to private equity backers including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and Shamrock Capital Advisors after its merger with rival DraftKings collapsed last month.

It is understood that FanDuel’s chief executive and co-founder Nigel Eccles has kept a seat on the board.

Last month, it emerged that FanDuel had withdrawn from operating in the UK market less than a year after a high profile launch. The company said the move came as it looked to ramp up its product in its main US market.

FanDuel launched in the UK market in August 2016 and focused on the English Premier League after striking a partnership deal with sports data provider Opta.

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