The story of the rise of daily fantasy sports, and the brilliant entrepreneurs disrupting the way we consume sports
The inside story of the rise, fall, and rise of FanDuel and DraftKings—two companies that began as obscure start-ups and, seemingly overnight, became billion-dollar companies, and just as quickly found themselves the target of the FBI and Department of Justice and the center of a national scandal.
Veteran sportswriter Albert Chen draws on candid, unprecedented interviews with every key player in tech, sports, gambling, and the fantasy leagues to create a breakneck narrative around a group of entrepreneurs, players, and gamblers. Billion Dollar Fantasy recounts the origins of modern gambling and fantasy sports in America, and follows the unlikely rise of the fantasy sports world through the lens of the two start-ups at the center of the story.
For fans of The Big Short, The Facebook Effect, or Bringing Down the House, this book tells the tale of a culture of risk, hubris, greed, redemption, and a group of larger-than-life characters trying to make sense of the complex new world they’ve created.
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“A rollicking, riveting account of an improbable start-up war that invaded all of our living rooms and paved the way for sports gambling across America…It’s both an inspirational story and a cautionary tale.”
— L. Jon Wertheim, 60 Minutes correspondent and New York Times bestselling author
“[An] insider account of the dizzying rise of fantasy sports websites.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)“The brisk narrative moves nimbly through the online entertainment industry and will find fans among those intrigued by fantasy sports.”
— Library Journal“An exhilarating, cinematic account of the rapid rise and fall and rise again of a pair of odds-defying unicorns and the bootstrapping impresarios who created them.”
— Ben Reiter, New York Times bestselling author“Chen answers all the questions about the strange intersection of sports, gambling, start-ups, and fast money that spawned these improbable companies. A great read.”
— Peter King, NBC SportsBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Albert Chen has been a writer and editor at Sports Illustrated since 2000. He is currently the editor of SI’s Scorecard section and oversees SI’s baseball, college football, and gambling coverage. He lives in New York City.