Underdog

Who owns Underdog?

Underdog is privately owned by founder and CEO Jeremy Levine and venture investors including Spark Capital, BlackRock, Acies Investments, SV Angel, Harris Blitzer Sports Entertainment, Mark Cuban, Kevin Durant, and Jared Goff.

Is Underdog a public company?

No. Underdog is private with no stock listing. Its last priced round was the March 2025 Series C at a $1.225 billion valuation.

When was Underdog founded?

Underdog was founded in February 2020 in Brooklyn by Jeremy Levine and seven colleagues from DRAFT, his previous fantasy company that Flutter had shut down.

What does Underdog own?

Underdog operates the Underdog Fantasy app, a licensed sportsbook in North Carolina, federally regulated prediction markets, and a media network. All share the Underdog brand and a single user wallet.

How much has Underdog raised?

The company has raised more than $140 million in total, including a $35 million Series B in 2022 and a $70 million first close of Series C in March 2025 at a $1.225 billion pre-money valuation.

Where is Underdog headquartered?

Underdog is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, where it was founded.

Underdog launched in February 2020 with seven founding members carried over from DRAFT, the fantasy app Levine had co-founded and sold to Paddy Power Betfair in 2017 for $48 million. Flutter, which absorbed Paddy Power Betfair, shut DRAFT down in 2019. Levine had already sold an earlier startup, StarStreet, into the FanDuel orbit. He has said publicly he has no intention of finishing third again.

The initial product was Best Ball, a season-long fantasy format where users draft once and never manage lineups. Best Ball Mania contests with large guaranteed prize pools gave the startup a signature property and a loyal grinders' community. The Pick'em product, where users predict over-unders on player stats, became the growth engine because it could legally operate in big states like California, Texas, and Florida where sports betting remained banned.

A $35 million Series B in 2022 led by BlackRock and Acies Investments funded the move into licensed betting. Underdog won a North Carolina sportsbook license and launched there in 2024, holding additional licenses in Ohio and Colorado and preparing Missouri entry at that market's opening.

March 2025 delivered the Series C: Spark Capital led a $70 million first close of a round expected to exceed $100 million, at a $1.225 billion pre-money valuation, nearly triple the Series B mark. The round made Underdog the first new sports betting unicorn in three years. Levine told CNBC the company projected about $500 million in 2025 revenue.

September 2025 brought the boldest product move: prediction markets through a Crypto.com partnership, offering CFTC-regulated event contracts in 16 states where sports betting is illegal, followed by a launch of prediction markets on its own federally regulated exchange. The twin-track strategy, regulated betting where licensed, federally regulated contracts everywhere else, became the company's defining strategic posture through 2026.

Underdog's legal posture is contested territory by design. State regulators in multiple jurisdictions have argued that pick'em fantasy contests constitute unlicensed sports betting, and some states have forced format changes or withdrawals across the industry.

The September 2025 prediction market launch drew industry criticism as a gray-market expansion: CFTC-regulated contracts offered in non-betting states sit in a legal gap that state gaming regulators and tribal operators are actively litigating. Underdog's position, shared by other operators using the same channel, is that federal commodities law governs the products. The dispute remains unresolved as of late 2026 and is the company's primary regulatory overhang.