FANDUEL boss Nigel Eccles has declared the Edinburgh-based fantasy sports company does not have to merge with another business to fight the regulatory challenges facing the sector in the US.

However, launching FanDuel's inaugural product for fantasy sports players in the UK, based on the English Premier League, he declined to comment specifically on speculation it has been in merger talks with US rival DraftKings.

And he insisted the $94 million loss reported by the company in May had been “fully expected” and “typical” for a high-growth business such as FanDuel.

Mr Eccles was speaking just days after the fantasy sports sector in the US was boosted by the news that state of New York had drafted legislation to regulate the market, following similar moves by states including Virginia, California, Indiana and Tennessee.

That followed the decision by FanDuel to suspend operations in New York in March, as legislators debated whether fantasy sports were a form of gambling and, in effect, illegal.

Mr Eccles, who co-founded with wife Lesley Eccles, Tom Griffiths, Rob Jones and Chris Stafford in 2009, said events in New York were a “huge win for the company for fantasy sports” in the state, which has become the seventh to introduce legislation covering online fantasy sports.

He hopes other states will now follow New York’s lead as he outlined FanDuel’s ultimate ambition of seeing fantasy sports is regulated and recognised in 40 states, building on the current tally of nine.

Mr Eccles acknowledged that speculation over a merger with DraftKings is a “recurring” rumour but pointed out that the “market is much bigger than two operators”, noting that the two companies compete with 20 to 30 other products in the US fantasy sports market.

And Mr Eccles insisted that the company, whose 400 staff are based largely in Edinburgh and Glasgow, does not have to tie up with another company to meet the cost of the regulatory challenges in the US.

He did note, though, that the cost of dealing with the regulation is “without a doubt investment”.

Revealing that that FanDuel is already sharing the cost of the US regulatory challenges with trade bodies and companies such as DraftKings, Mr Eccles said: “We’re fully funded to do that. The business itself is doing really well. As a high-growth business, as our auditors note, we were unprofitable [last year], which is very typical if you look at any super high-growth business.

“That was fully expected for last year – that wasn’t a surprise. That’s just an investment for the future of the business.”

Equally, Mr Eccles also insisted that the ongoing regulatory issues over fantasy sports in the state were having no impact on his ability to travel and work in the US.

He said: “Fantasy sports has been played in the US for 50 years. It’s played by over 50 million people and there really hasn’t been any question until recently about its legality. There’s clear federal laws, there’s clear case laws about fantasy sports.

“I think what we have really seen in the last six months is that the explosion in daily fantasy market has brought the attention to the fore. I think the question has more been about how do we regulate this industry? This has become a multi-billion dollar industry – there needs to be appropriate consumer protection and regulation in place. That’s where the bulk of the discussion has been and that’s where our focus is.”

Meanwhile, Mr Eccles said FanDuel's English Premier League product, which has been in development for a year, will “bring the excitement of an entire season down to one day”. In contrast to its games in the US, UK players will be able to select formations as well as players for their fantasy teams.

Mr Eccles, who said Scotland would "certainly be on the list" for future launches, he said: “I would say the UK market is a bit like the US market when we launched in 2009. I think that our product is a step change better. It’s a completely mobile experience. Not only does it collapse that season down into one day, the drafting experience is faster and slicker, the player information is great, the live scoring experience is just really fast and exciting.

“In essence, we think this is the future of fantasy football in the UK.”

Asked whether he was more excited about Northern Ireland reaching the last-16 of Euro 2016 than launching FanDuel in the UK, Mr Eccles quipped: “I’m a big supporter of Northern Ireland, but I certainly hope our product stays in the competition longer!”