Gaming giant DraftKings acquires Israeli company BlueRibbon

American gaming company DraftKings, which manages fantasy sports contests and is a sports betting operator, announced on Monday that it is acquiring Israeli gaming company BlueRibbon Software Ltd. BlueRibbon is based out of Tel Aviv, has raised millions of dollars, and currently employs 15 people. The acquisition sum was not disclosed.

In a statement, DraftKings said it intends to fully integrate BlueRibbon's leadership and current employee base,and increase its hiring in its Tel Aviv office.

BlueRibbon was founded in 2017 by Amir Askarov (CEO) and Dan Fischer (CMO), two veterans in the gaming industry with decades of experience, who were later joined by Idan Fridman who serves as CTO and together they have built and grown the company’s platform.

DraftKings’ products range across daily fantasy, regulated gaming and digital media. It is the official daily fantasy partner of the NFL, MLB, NASCAR and the PGA TOUR as well as an authorized gaming operator of the NBA and MLB and an official betting operator of the PGA TOUR.

“Integrating BlueRibbon’s proprietary, proven technology will enable DraftKings to create dynamic incentives for our users as they engage with our products,” said Paul Liberman, DraftKings co-founder and head of Global Technology and Product. “The team at BlueRibbon brings technical and gamification expertise and broad industry experience to DraftKings, and we are excited to leverage this technology to further differentiate our product offerings and engage customers in new ways.”

“We created BlueRibbon to give companies the ability to differentiate themselves within the highly competitive sports betting and iGaming industries with a unique and innovative marketing platform,” said Askarov. “Joining DraftKings will allow us to continue to build our platform to enhance the player experience and to strengthen our Tel Aviv-based team.”