Fantasy eSports hub Vulcun lays off staff as it shifts direction

Daily fantasy eSports provider Vulcun has laid off 14 people -- which The Verge estimates is roughly a quarter of the company -- as it transitions away from operating daily fantasy sports and eSports for real money.

This is especially notable in light of the fact that Vulcun shuttered its operations in the state of Nevada a few months ago after the state branded daily fantasy sports as gambling.

As we noted then, Vulcun -- which has been accepting and paying out real money for years as a dedicated fantasy eSports site -- got caught in the wake of high-profile daily fantasy sports operators DraftKings and FanDuel, who had each begun integrating eSports into their game lineups mere months before Nevada regulators finished investigating them and declared them gambling.

FanDuel and DraftKings are also currently embroiled in legal wrangling with New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, who made the case in November that the pair were (at least in the state of New York's eyes) unlicensed gambling operations. They've since secured temporary permission to continue operating in the state as they seek to appeal the Attorney General's verdict.

However, it seems that Vulcun may be extricating itself from the daily fantasy eSports business entirely.

"The company is transitioning to a new direction, and unfortunately this is a painful but necessary part of the process," Vulcun cofounder Ali Moiz told The Verge in an email. "We are actively helping these people look for new jobs, so if anyone is interested in hiring them, they can contact ali [at] vulcun. We'll have more announcements about our new direction coming shortly in the next few weeks."