From the Boston Herald:

DraftKings Inc. and FanDuel Inc., the two biggest daily fantasy sports companies, are in talks about a merger, according to people familiar with the situation.

Investors in Boston-based DraftKings and New York-based FanDuel, which are privately held, have been pushing for a tie-up for some time, according to the sources, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are private.

A deal could reduce legal costs for the two companies, which have had to defend themselves against the legal challenges as well as lobby for legislation to make the games legal in states that have declared them illegal gambling.

This is not entirely surprising. A merger had been speculated about for some time, certainly since the government and big gambling decided it wanted a piece of the daily fantasy pie. Both companies have toned down advertising BIG-TIME in recent months, likely to cut costs with pending legal battles. Anecdotally, Draft Kings told me they were offering no affiliate opportunities (to us, at least) until football season, which is in stark contrast to the crazy bounties they were willing to pay for new signups this time a year ago.

A merger makes sense. The two companies essentially offer the same product, have the same customer, and advertise in the same places. Together, they could be an unstoppable force in the gambling fantasy industry. More importantly, their combined effort may be needed to lobby to exist. I just wonder which name will stick around…