FanDuel to provide DFS services to Grupo Globo's Cartola FC in Brazil

Flutter’s FanDuel and Brazilian media conglomerate Grupo Globo have reached a new multi-year agreement, the sports betting giant announced on Tuesday. As part of the deal, FanDuel is set to provide daily fantasy sports (DFS) services to Grupo Globo’s Cartola FC brand.

Under the terms of the agreement, FanDuel will power an extension of Cartola FC’s current product suite that will include the launch of a paid daily fantasy sports platform in Brazil, called Cartola Express.

Grupo Globo is the largest media conglomerate in Brazil, a network made up of a number of companies that create and distribute content across multiple platforms. Its news, sports and entertainment programs reach 99.6% of the country’s population, according to a press release, and its linear channels speak directly to more than 100 million Brazilian people per day.

The Cartola FC brand was first launched in 2005, a prominent player in the local fantasy sports market with more than 17 million app downloads, 10 million active fantasy teams and 435,000 Cartola PRO customer subscriptions. Cartola Express will now join Grupo Globo's Cartola portfolio.

The Cartola brand is integrated across all of Grupo Globo’s broadcast and digital sports media ecosystem, including daily Serie A programming, weekly expert commentary shows such as “The LineUp”, Globo’s online sports outlet GE, and social media and digital influencer networks.

The product is free to play and gives players the opportunity to build fantasy teams for Brasileiro Série A. A PRO subscription gives players greater profile customization and further access to news, tips and competitions, plus the opportunity to compete for gift cards per round.

The agreement with FanDuel will see the brand helping expand Cartola FC’s offering with the launch of a Cartola Express paid DFS product for Brazilian customers. It will sit alongside the already established Cartola FC and Cartola PRO products.

“In Cartola FC, Grupo Globo has built a pioneer in the Brazilian fantasy sports market, offering millions of players access to a first-class entertainment platform which is integrated across a vast sports media portfolio,” Amy Howe, FanDuel CEO, commented. “This exciting initiative allows us to contribute to that success by adding FanDuel’s proven product capabilities and cutting-edge services.”

Newton Filho, CEO of DFS Entretenimento, which operates Cartola Express, remarked that daily fantasy sports is a fast-growing form of entertainment in Brazil and that Cartola Express “has the potential to take this to the next level.”

“We’re proud to count on the expertise of FanDuel, which has been a leader in this field in the United States for more than 10 years, and we’re confident that our players will enjoy the benefits of their experience,” Filho added.