Horizon Next Retains and Expands FanDuel Account Worth $200 Million

Sports tech company FanDuel has expanded its account with Horizon Next, the Horizon Media subsidiary that specializes in performance media.

The appointment comes at the end of a competitive review led by ID Comms that began in November and wrapped up this week. The account is worth $200 million, according to a source familiar with the review. Horizon Next declined to confirm the number.

The decision is effective immediately and sees Horizon Next manage media strategy and investment across television, OTT and OOH advertising for FanDuel’s sportsbook, daily fantasy, racing business and casino businesses. The brand’s audio, social, display and search businesses were not part of the review.

Horizon competed for the business with holding companies Mindshare and Publicis Media early in the process, with IPG’s UM making it to the review’s final round. Publicis Media deferred comment to the client, and neither Mindshare or UM could be reached for comment at the time of this story’s publication.

Horizon’s expansion resulted in two agencies losing the share of the business they previously managed, according to a source familiar with the account. The brand declined to name those incumbents.

“The competitive review provided us an opportunity to demonstrate our strategic vision, buying power, robust analytic solutions and, most importantly, confirm that we had the right team and structure in place to continue to support FanDuel and their ambitious goals to become America’s sportsbook of record,” Gene Turner, president of Horizon Next, said in a statement.

Taking on the casino business

Horizon Next’s expansion now includes FanDuel’s casino business, which has ambitions of becoming the leader in the online casino category, Turner added. In the U.S., FanDuel portfolio brands operate across gaming, sports betting, fantasy sports, advance-deposit wagering and TV/media.

FanDuel Casino has limited operating capacity since regulations ban it from some markets. Currently, customers can access the online casino in Michigan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New Jersey, as well as in Ontario, Canada.

“In the five short years since mobile sports gaming was legalized, FanDuel has enjoyed incredible growth as America’s No. 1 sportsbook and is a brand synonymous in mainstream sports culture,” said Mike Raffensperger, chief commercial officer at FanDuel Group, in a statement.

The FanDuel brand, separate from its casino business, operates across the U.S. with an estimated 17 million customers.

Horizon Next is nabbing more business this year. It has 565 employees and manages $3 billion in client billings. Most recently, the agency won media AOR duties for A Place For Mom, an assignment worth up to $100 million.