Daily fantasy sports crowded the airwaves for the past year. Millions of people flocked to these sites to draft players and earn money. Daily fantasy sites have made a huge sum of money, but the tables are turning. Several state governments are classifying daily fantasy sports as gambling, and now companies are starting to react. Vantiv has now reacted to the latest action in the daily fantasy sports industry.
When sites like DraftKings take deposits in, they need a payment processor to get the money. Vantiv was one of several payment processing companies that worked with daily fantasy sports sites. Unfortunately, the increased legal attention has made Vantiv wary of daily fantasy sports. They feel that working with daily fantasy sports sites could put their own business at risk.
Vantiv contacted DraftKings, FanDuel, and other fantasy sites in early February and informed the companies that they would no longer process payments for DraftKings or FanDuel. Rumors had been spreading throughout the industry that Vantiv was looking to leave daily fantasy sports behind, but a DraftKings statement forced Vantiv's hand. DraftKings issued a statement which said that Vantiv had not stopped payments. Vantiv immediately responded by saying that they would not process payments for daily fantasy sports sites, preventing DraftKings statement from having an impact.
Vantiv delivered a major blow to daily fantasy sports with their announcement. On Friday, their shares were up 5% and are projected to go up another 15% this next week. The leadership at Vantiv believes that cutting loose from daily fantasy sports is a brilliant move.
Having integrity should be rewarded, and Vantiv feels that this move represents their integrity.
