Daily fantasy sports operator DraftKings has received a UK gambling license while naming former PartyPoker boss Jeffrey Haas to head its new UK operations.

In June, DraftKings confirmed that it had applied for a UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) license as part of its international expansion efforts. On Monday, DraftKings announced it had received its new UK diploma and the company expects to launch in the UK sometime in Q4 2015, with plans to launch in markets in continental Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America next year.

DraftKings will open its new London office by the end of this year with a full complement of around 20 staff members. Managing this UK rabble will be Haas (pictured), who has been named DraftKings’s new Chief International Officer. Haas, the longtime director of poker operations for Bwin.party digital entertainment, left that company in July while hinting of a ‘new adventure.’

Unlike the US, where DFS activity is tacitly tolerated in the majority of states – although its actual legality remains untested – fantasy sports is considered ‘pool betting’ in the UK and thus falls under the oversight of the UKGC. DraftKings’ rival Yahoo recently partnered with UK-licensed fantasy football (soccer) operator Mondogoal, further underscoring the sector-wide push to establish a global fantasy footprint.