Underdog Fantasy found itself at a crossroads in 2023.
The daily fantasy sports operator faced severe regulatory pushback over its pick’em games, where users could stake money on outcomes similar to player prop parlays at licensed sportsbooks.
But as of today, Underdog Fantasy has expanded its reach from 32 states to 35, recently launching in Missouri — the latest state to legalize sports betting. However, the mechanics of its pick’em product have shifted significantly in around half of those states. Underdog now operates player-versus-house contests in 19 states, while introducing a peer-to-peer version, branded Champions, in 16 others
The format allows users to compete directly against one another rather than against the house — a distinction regulators often use to determine whether a product qualifies as sports betting.
