DraftKings Inc. (DKNG) is a digital sports entertainment and gaming company that provides real-money gaming and betting experiences. The company offers online and retail sports betting, online casino games, daily fantasy sports contests, and other digital products. It operates across multiple jurisdictions, leveraging scalable technology and strategic acquisitions to expand its footprint.
- Sportsbook - Offers online and retail sports betting services, allowing users to place bets on various sports events at fixed odds.
- iGaming - Provides online casino games, including slots, table games, and live dealer games, where users play against the house.
- Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) - Facilitates peer-to-peer contests where users create fantasy teams and compete based on real-world player performances.
- Digital Lottery Courier Services - Enables users to purchase lottery tickets online through digital platforms.
- DraftKings Marketplace - Operates a marketplace for digital collectibles, including NFTs.
- Media and Other Consumer Product Offerings - Engages in media-related activities and offers additional consumer products to enhance user engagement.
- Software Development - Designs and develops sports betting and casino gaming software for online and retail operators.
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| Name | Position | External Roles | Short Bio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jason D. Robins ExecutiveBoard | Chief Executive Officer | Board Member at Extend, Inc. | Jason D. Robins has served as CEO of DraftKings since its inception in December 2011 and assumed the role of Chairman of the Board in April 2020, driving strategic initiatives and legislative advocacy. | View Report → |
Matthew Kalish ExecutiveBoard | President, DraftKings North America | Trustee of the Matthew P. Kalish 2020 Trust | Matthew Kalish is a co-founder of DraftKings and has served as President, DraftKings North America since December 2019. He previously served as Chief Revenue Officer from 2014 until December 2019 and has been a Board member since April 2020. | View Report → |
Paul Liberman ExecutiveBoard | President, Global Technology and Product | Advisor to Extend | Paul Liberman is the President, Global Technology and Product at DKNG since December 2019. He is a co-founder of DraftKings and has held key leadership roles including COO from 2015 to December 2019, and he has served on the board of directors since April 2020. | |
Alan Ellingson Executive | Chief Financial Officer | Alan Ellingson is the Chief Financial Officer of DraftKings Inc. since May 1, 2024, and previously served as Senior Vice President, Finance and Analytics from January 2023 to May 2024 and as Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis starting in 2020. | ||
Erik Bradbury Executive | Chief Accounting Officer | Erik Bradbury is currently the Chief Accounting Officer at DraftKings since August 12, 2024. He has over 20 years of experience in accounting, having previously served as CAO and Principal Accounting Officer at DKNG from September 2020 to September 2023 and as Senior Vice President, Controller & Chief Accounting Officer at IAC Inc. from September 2023 to August 2024. | ||
R. Stanton Dodge Executive | Chief Legal Officer and Secretary | Board of directors of EchoStar Corporation; State of Colorado Supreme Court Nominating Commission | R. Stanton Dodge has been the Chief Legal Officer and Secretary at DraftKings Inc. since November 2017, responsible for overseeing legal and government affairs as well as corporate communications. Outside of DraftKings, he serves on the board of directors of EchoStar Corporation and is a member of the State of Colorado Supreme Court Nominating Commission. |
- Given the recent higher Illinois tax and your strategy of reducing promotional intensity and marketing in that state, how sustainable is this approach if similar tax increases occur in other key markets?
- Your live betting initiatives are projected to be EBITDA neutral in 2025 and positive in 2026; can you elaborate on the key performance metrics and timeline assumptions that support this forecast, and how you plan to manage potential execution risks?
- With the noted significant decline in promotional intensity for both sports and iGaming, how do you expect this to impact customer acquisition and retention, and what risks do you foresee if further reductions occur?
- Your 2025 guidance assumes no changes in gaming tax rates despite past fluctuations; what contingencies have you built into your forecast if unexpected state-level tax hikes or regulatory changes occur?
- You mentioned exploring opportunities in the debt markets primarily for general corporate purposes; can you provide more detail on how you plan to balance this potential debt allocation between fueling strategic investments and returning capital to shareholders, especially in volatile market conditions?
Research analysts who have asked questions during DraftKings earnings calls.
Benjamin Miller
Goldman Sachs
5 questions for DKNG
Brandt Montour
Barclays PLC
5 questions for DKNG
David Katz
Jefferies Financial Group Inc.
5 questions for DKNG
Jed Kelly
Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.
5 questions for DKNG
Joseph Stauff
Susquehanna Financial Group, LLLP
5 questions for DKNG
Robin Farley
UBS
5 questions for DKNG
Shaun Kelley
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
5 questions for DKNG
Stephen Grambling
Morgan Stanley
5 questions for DKNG
Benjamin Chaiken
Mizuho Financial Group, Inc.
4 questions for DKNG
Daniel Politzer
Wells Fargo
4 questions for DKNG
Jordan Bender
JMP Securities
4 questions for DKNG
Robert Fishman
MoffettNathanson
4 questions for DKNG
Barry Jonas
Truist Securities
3 questions for DKNG
Ryan Sigdahl
Craig-Hallum Capital Group
3 questions for DKNG
Bernie Mcternan
Needham & Company
2 questions for DKNG
Brian Pitz
BMO Capital Markets
2 questions for DKNG
Carlo Santarelli
Deutsche Bank
2 questions for DKNG
Clark Lampen
BTIG, LLC
2 questions for DKNG
Patrick Keough
Truist Securities
2 questions for DKNG
William Lampen
BTIG
2 questions for DKNG
Ben Chaiken
Mitsui
1 question for DKNG
Bernard McTernan
Needham & Company
1 question for DKNG
Chad Beynon
Macquarie
1 question for DKNG
Clark Lampin
BTIG
1 question for DKNG
Jeffrey Stantial
Stifel Financial Corp.
1 question for DKNG
Joseph Greff
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
1 question for DKNG
Michael Graham
D.A. Davidson & Co.
1 question for DKNG
Steven Sheeckutz
Citigroup
1 question for DKNG
Notable M&A activity and strategic investments in the past 3 years.
| Company | Year | Details |
|---|---|---|
Simplebet, Inc. | 2024 | DraftKings acquired Simplebet to enhance its live betting platform and reduce vendor costs by internalizing micro markets, paying an upfront consideration of $155 million with an earn-out component tied to performance thresholds. |
Jackpocket Inc. | 2024 | DraftKings acquired Jackpocket for $750 million using roughly 55% cash ($412.5 million) and 45% equity ($337.5 million), with a collar mechanism based on stock price, to expand into the U.S. digital lottery vertical, leverage customer synergies, and drive significant revenue and EBITDA growth. |
Sports IQ Analytics Inc. (SIQ) | 2024 | DraftKings acquired SIQ by issuing 248,684 shares of its Class A common stock alongside cash, with the strategic aim of bringing pricing and trading capabilities in-house to drive margin expansion and product differentiation, while recording the acquired assets at estimated fair values. |
Golden Nugget Online Gaming, Inc. | 2022 | DraftKings acquired Golden Nugget Online Gaming via an all-stock transaction at an exchange ratio of 0.365 DraftKings shares per GNOG share, leveraging the established GNOG brand and technology to broaden its iGaming offerings and achieve approximately $300 million in synergies through operational integration and technology migration. |
Recent press releases and 8-K filings for DKNG.
- Shares of DraftKings and Flutter Entertainment fell sharply after Kalshi, a U.S. prediction markets operator, launched a new same-game parlay-style product for NFL matches.
- Kalshi's new product allows users to build custom parlays, directly competing with sportsbook offerings and potentially threatening market share, especially as it operates in states where sports betting is restricted.
- Kalshi is estimated to have captured 5% to 10% of betting volume from traditional sportsbooks like DraftKings due to its ability to operate in states where sports betting is illegal.
- The launch of Kalshi's parlay product, despite modest initial revenue, significantly impacted investor sentiment, wiping nearly $7 billion off the combined market value of Flutter and DraftKings.
- Analysts view the market reaction as an overreaction, noting that Kalshi's offering lacks the comprehensive product depth and pricing advantages of traditional sportsbooks like DraftKings.
- DraftKings Inc. has entered into a multi-year advertising agreement with NBCUniversal, which is described as one of DraftKings' largest and most impactful multi-platform agreements to date.
- This agreement grants DraftKings exclusive integrations and digital sponsorships across NBCUniversal’s extensive portfolio of sports properties, including the NFL, NBA, PGA TOUR, and tentpole events such as Super Bowl LX and the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup.
- DraftKings will have exclusive rights for integrations and digital sponsorships in online sports betting, iGaming, daily fantasy sports, online lottery products, and online horse wagering categories.
- Underdog is partnering with crypto.com to launch federally regulated prediction markets for sports events, enabling them to offer team-based predictions in 16 states.
- Underdog CEO Jeremy Levine projects nearly $500 million in revenue in their fifth year, claiming the company is the fastest growing sports company ever.
- The partnership provides crypto.com access to Underdog's extensive sports customer base, while Underdog gains access to crypto.com's CFTC regulated markets.
- The estimated Total Addressable Market (TAM) for sports predictions markets is $550 million.
- DraftKings reported record Q2 2025 revenue of $1.513 billion, a 37% year-over-year increase, and record adjusted EBITDA of over $300 million, representing a 20% adjusted EBITDA margin.
- The company is maintaining its fiscal year 2025 guidance, expecting revenue near the high end of $6.2 billion to $6.4 billion and adjusted EBITDA near the midpoint of $800 million to $900 million. This guidance incorporates the anticipated mobile sports book launch in Missouri and higher tax rates in New Jersey, Louisiana, and Illinois.
- Sportsbook outcomes in Q2 2025 positively impacted revenue by $110 million. The company also repurchased 6.5 million shares in the first two quarters of the year.
- Operational highlights include a 45% year-over-year increase in sportsbook net revenue, a record 8.7% net revenue margin, and 16% year-over-year growth in live betting handle. iGaming net revenue grew 23% year-over-year.
- While JP Morgan initiated a buy rating on DraftKings, analyst Danny Moses has become less bullish due to several factors, including the stock trading at 22-23 times EBITDA and recent increases in online gambling taxes in several states.
- The competitive landscape is intensifying, with companies like Kalshi exposing DraftKings' most profitable in-game live wagering and Polymarket raising money at a billion-dollar valuation.
- Moses also expressed concern that DraftKings' strategy of changing odds to be less customer-friendly to offset taxes is not a sustainable model.
- DraftKings announced on June 12, 2025 that it will implement a $0.50 transaction fee on all mobile and online sports wagers placed in Illinois, effective September 1, 2025.
- The fee is a response to the Illinois legislature’s decision to more than triple DraftKings’ tax rate on mobile and online wagers over the past two years.
- CEO Jason Robins warned that higher taxes threaten the regulated industry’s sustainability, while illegal operators pay no fees or offer consumer protections.
- DraftKings will immediately remove the Illinois-specific fee if the new tax legislation is repealed.
- The company continues to support collaborative policymaking to ensure long-term sustainability of the sports wagering industry.
- DraftKings reported Q1 2025 revenue of $1.409B (20% YoY increase from $1,175M in Q1 2024) driven by strong customer engagement, efficient acquisition, and the acquisition of Jackpocket .
- Live betting emerged as a key growth driver, accounting for over 50% of total handle, while sportsbook performance improved with a 16% YoY increase in handle and a parlay handle mix boost of 370 bps resulting in a structural hold of 10.4% .
- The company delivered $103M in adjusted EBITDA for Q1, reflecting strong core value drivers and improved promotional efficiency .
- FY 2025 guidance was revised to a revenue range of $6.2B–$6.4B and an adjusted EBITDA range of $800M–$900M (midpoints: $6.3B and $850M), impacted by customer-friendly sport outcomes .
- Maintained a robust balance sheet with $1.1B in cash and completed a share buyback of 3.7M shares during the quarter
- DraftKings successfully closed its $600M Term Loan B facility, upsized from an initial $500M due to strong demand, maturing in March 2032 at an interest rate of SOFR plus 1.75% per annum.
- 2025 guidance update: The company expects a midpoint of $6.45 billion in revenue and EBITDA between $900 million and $1 billion, driven by robust customer acquisition.
- Customer acquisition & retention strengths: Strong performance in sports betting was highlighted by a successful Super Bowl and consistently over 100% year-over-year retention across existing cohorts.
- Strategic financial & product initiatives: Executives discussed their inaugural debt offering to gain market exposure, potential acceleration of share buybacks, and ongoing investments in AI-driven productivity and differentiated iGaming product enhancements.
- FY2024 Performance: Revenue grew 30% YoY to $4.8B, with improved adjusted EBITDA ($181M) and positive free cash flow for the first time .
- Q4 2024 Results: Achieved $1.393B in revenue (13% YoY growth) and $89M in adjusted EBITDA, with an increased structural Sportsbook hold of 11.2% .
- FY2024 Milestone: Recorded its first positive Adjusted EBITDA and initiated an inaugural share repurchase authorization .
- Customer Growth: Expanded its base by acquiring 3.5M new customers and increasing total customers by 42% to 10.1M at record-low acquisition costs .
- FY2025 Guidance: Raised revenue midpoint to $6.45B (expected range: $6.3–$6.6B) with maintained adjusted EBITDA of $900M–$1B; live betting investments are expected to drive EBITDA positivity from 2026 .