FanDuel, a company founded six years ago in Scotland by Nigel Eccles, a young man from Northern Ireland now dominates the rapidly-growing fantasy sports market in the United States, and has just attracted $275m in funding from blue chip private equity and industry investors.
This latest round of funding raises the company's valuation to $1.3bn.
Nigel Eccles in 2013
Unlike traditional season-long fantasy games, FanDuel competitions take place over a shorter period of time, and offer cash rewards for winners.
Malcolm Moore, Leisure Industry Correspondent with the Financial Times joined Vincent Wall on Breakfast Business this morning, to discuss the rise of the company.
FanDuel has been highly successful in the US, where Mr Moore says that it has become a "proxy for gambling."
Many players are as interested in stats as they are in sports, and try to developed their own "money ball" style systems.
"A lot of people who are playing this aren't necessarily sports fans, if you speak to FanDuel they are very careful to say that there is a great tradition of fantasy sports in the US.
"One of the things that has lead US sports teams to invest in FanDuel is that they say that it deepens fans' engagement with the sport," he adds.
It is estimated that black market betting in the US could be worth as much as $160bn.
The company has powerful backers, including Google Capital, Time Warner, NBC Sports Ventures, Comcast Ventures and investments from the owners of a number of NFL and NBA franchises.
Mr Moore says that these direct sporting links could act as a valuable lobby if regulators attempt to tighten gambling laws to cover fantasy games.
“This roster of investors, with expertise across finance, technology, advertising and sports entertainment, is committed to the growth and success of FanDuel as a game-changer for the sports industry,” said FanDuel CEO and cofounder Nigel Eccles in a recent statement.
It's main rival is DraftKings - a similar site which is tipped to soon also be worth more than $1bn - Walt Disney, who own the sports network ESPN are believed to be keen to invest in the company.
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