{"id":63684,"date":"2017-11-21T14:00:43","date_gmt":"2017-11-21T22:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=63684"},"modified":"2017-11-21T10:14:47","modified_gmt":"2017-11-21T18:14:47","slug":"nigel-eccles-steps-fanduel-ceo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nigel-eccles-steps-fanduel-ceo\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigel Eccles Steps Down as FanDuel CEO"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>FanDuel founder Nigel Eccles has stepped down from his position as CEO of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/richard-sherman-says-daily-fantasy-sports-dehumanize-players\">daily fantasy sports<\/a> (DFS) firm, saying that the time has come for him to pursue other opportunities.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_63685\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-63685\" data-style=\"width: 696px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-63685\" src=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/elEccles_co-.jpg\" alt=\"Nigel Eccles FanDuel\" width=\"696\" height=\"384\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/elEccles_co-.jpg 620w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/elEccles_co--142x78.jpg 142w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/elEccles_co--166x92.jpg 166w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/elEccles_co--544x300.jpg 544w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" \/><figcaption  id=\"caption-attachment-63685\"class=\"text-description\">Nigel Eccles was a co-founder of FanDuel and served as CEO until he stepped down from the post on Monday. (Image: Robert Perry)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Eccles helped found the company in 2009 with his wife and several friends in Edinburgh, Scotland.<\/p>\n<p>From that early dream, Eccles turned FanDuel into one of the two major players in the DFS industry, alongside rival DraftKings. While it may have gotten its start in the UK, the business truly took off in the United States, with the company now having its headquarters in New York.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNigel achieved something remarkable \u2013 he completely redefined an existing industry,\u201d the FanDuel board of directors said in a statement. \u201cHis passion, intelligence, and focus have been the bedrock of FanDuel\u2019s success. We would like to offer our sincere thanks as he leaves to pursue his next venture.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Eccles Moving On to New Esports Venture<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>While Eccles hasn\u2019t said precisely what that next venture will be, he has dropped a few hints on his Twitter account.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"main-blockquote\"><p><strong>\u201cExcited but a little bit sad to be leaving @fanduel today,\u201d Eccles wrote. \u201cFor me I\u2019m building something awesome in eSports. Watch this space.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>This isn\u2019t the first time that Eccles has expressed an interest in exploring esports. In fact, the idea may not be entirely fleshed out at this point, as he called it \u201cjust a thought in my head\u201d in an earlier interview. However, he has said that he sees esports as an area where he may again be able to experience the explosive growth he enjoyed with FanDuel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTraditional sports are in harvest mode,\u201d Eccles told <em>Recode<\/em>. \u201cEsports are in growth mode.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>King to Take Over as CEO<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Replacing Eccles at the top of FanDuel will be Matt King, who served as the Chief Financial Officer of the company from 2014 to 2016. He will immediately become the new CEO and join the board of directors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith his strategic vision, range of experiences, and broad skillset, I cannot imagine a better individual to steer FanDuel forward,\u201d Eccles said of King in a statement. \u201cWith tremendous legislative strides in the past two years and the business moving into profitability in Q4, FanDuel is in a great position. I know Matt is the leader to capitalize on the momentum in the sports technology space to take FanDuel to the next level.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eccles\u2019 decision follows the failure of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/draftkings-and-fan-duel-losing\">planned business merger between FanDuel and DraftKings<\/a>. The plan, initially announced last November, would have put the combined business in control of 90 percent or more of the fantasy sports market.<\/p>\n<p>However, the Federal Trade Commission voted 2-0 to prevent the merger in June. In July, the companies announced that they would no longer be pursuing the plan. Had the deal gone through, Eccles would have served as the chairman of the combined business.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FanDuel founder Nigel Eccles has stepped down from his position as CEO of the daily fantasy sports (DFS) firm, saying that the time has come for him to pursue other opportunities. Eccles helped found the company in 2009 with his wife and several friends in Edinburgh, Scotland. From that early dream, Eccles turned FanDuel into [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":63685,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,3312,16,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Nigel Eccles Steps Down as FanDuel CEO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Nigel Eccles has announced that he will step down as CEO of daily fantasy sports leader FanDuel, the company he co-founded in 2009.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nigel-eccles-steps-fanduel-ceo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nigel Eccles Steps Down as FanDuel CEO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Nigel Eccles has announced that he will step down as CEO of daily fantasy sports leader FanDuel, the company he co-founded in 2009.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nigel-eccles-steps-fanduel-ceo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-11-21T22:00:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-11-21T18:14:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/elEccles_co-.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"620\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"342\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nigel-eccles-steps-fanduel-ceo\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nigel-eccles-steps-fanduel-ceo\/\",\"name\":\"Nigel Eccles Steps Down as FanDuel CEO\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nigel-eccles-steps-fanduel-ceo\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nigel-eccles-steps-fanduel-ceo\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/elEccles_co-.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-11-21T22:00:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-11-21T18:14:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\"},\"description\":\"Nigel Eccles has announced that he will step down as CEO of daily fantasy sports leader FanDuel, the company he co-founded in 2009.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nigel-eccles-steps-fanduel-ceo\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nigel-eccles-steps-fanduel-ceo\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nigel-eccles-steps-fanduel-ceo\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/elEccles_co-.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/elEccles_co-.jpg\",\"width\":620,\"height\":342,\"caption\":\"Nigel Eccles was a co-founder of FanDuel and served as CEO until he stepped down from the post on Monday. (Image: Robert Perry)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nigel-eccles-steps-fanduel-ceo\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"eSports\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/esports\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Nigel Eccles Steps Down as FanDuel CEO\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\",\"name\":\"Casino.org Staff Writer\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0853bd574da5b217483afb1fbbee33a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0853bd574da5b217483afb1fbbee33a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Casino.org Staff Writer\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/corg-staff-writer\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Nigel Eccles Steps Down as FanDuel CEO","description":"Nigel Eccles has announced that he will step down as CEO of daily fantasy sports leader FanDuel, the company he co-founded in 2009.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nigel-eccles-steps-fanduel-ceo\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Nigel Eccles Steps Down as FanDuel CEO","og_description":"Nigel Eccles has announced that he will step down as CEO of daily fantasy sports leader FanDuel, the company he co-founded in 2009.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nigel-eccles-steps-fanduel-ceo\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2017-11-21T22:00:43+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-11-21T18:14:47+00:00","og_image":[{"width":620,"height":342,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/elEccles_co-.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Casino.org Staff Writer","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Casino_Org","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Casino.org Staff Writer","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nigel-eccles-steps-fanduel-ceo\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nigel-eccles-steps-fanduel-ceo\/","name":"Nigel Eccles Steps Down as FanDuel CEO","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nigel-eccles-steps-fanduel-ceo\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nigel-eccles-steps-fanduel-ceo\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/elEccles_co-.jpg","datePublished":"2017-11-21T22:00:43+00:00","dateModified":"2017-11-21T18:14:47+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77"},"description":"Nigel Eccles has announced that he will step down as CEO of daily fantasy sports leader FanDuel, the company he co-founded in 2009.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nigel-eccles-steps-fanduel-ceo\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nigel-eccles-steps-fanduel-ceo\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nigel-eccles-steps-fanduel-ceo\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/elEccles_co-.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/elEccles_co-.jpg","width":620,"height":342,"caption":"Nigel Eccles was a co-founder of FanDuel and served as CEO until he stepped down from the post on Monday. (Image: Robert Perry)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nigel-eccles-steps-fanduel-ceo\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"eSports","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/esports\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Nigel Eccles Steps Down as FanDuel CEO"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77","name":"Casino.org Staff Writer","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0853bd574da5b217483afb1fbbee33a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0853bd574da5b217483afb1fbbee33a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Casino.org Staff Writer"},"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/corg-staff-writer\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63684"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63684\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}