Daily fantasy esports website AlphaDraft, a subsidiary of Fanduel, will close its doors on Oct. 21, the company announced in an email to its customers earlier today.
AlphaDraft was among the the first endemic daily fantasy esports websites, alongside the likes of Vulcun, to launch in early 2015 after the success of popular fantasy sports websites Fanduel and DraftKings. In Sept. 2015, AlphaDraft announced that it had been acquired by FanDuel for an unspecified amount.
"What started with only a few esports contests expanded along the way and we are very proud of the platform we built," the email stated. "However, as we continue to evaluate the esports landscape, we are announcing today that we have made the difficult decision to stop offering fantasy esports contests on AlphaDraft as of Friday, October 21, at the conclusion of the League of Legends World Championship. You can continue to play contests until this time."
Throughout its lifespan, AlphaDraft ran a number of miscellaneous projects, including the likes of an amateur League of Legends tournament. The company also sponsored a number of teams, including former League of Legends and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team Renegades. It also sponsored a talk show, By the Numbers, that featured Duncan "Thorin" Shields, Richard Lewis and Christopher "MonteCristo" Mykles.
Daily fantasy sports is currently banned in five states, allowed in 12, and several other states have pending legislation to try and regulate DFS within existing gambling statutes.
