DraftKings CEO Jason Robins has added his two cents to the growing talk around prediction markets in sports betting.
In the company’s Q1 earnings call on Friday, Robins commented,
“We continue to actively monitor the events surrounding federally regulated Prediction Markets, including recent court cases.”
Robins believes that the trend of companies such as Kalshi, Crypto.com, and other event contracts sites is not going away anytime soon. State regulators and tribal casino owners are having more conversations about the direction of online sports betting and face tough decisions on how to proceed.
In response to a question about how his conversations with state legislators and tribes have evolved, he answered, “It’s definitely something they’re talking about. It’s still early days, so it’s hard to say at this point if it’s ‘catalyzed’ anything, because we haven’t seen any states who are like ‘yeah, we’re gonna do this now.’”
He continued, “I think, as it continues to grow, it’s going to continue being a powerful lever that this is happening whether you want it to or not, so do you want to do it in a way that makes sense — if you’re a California tribe, or if you’re a state that hasn’t legalized it yet — that allows you to prosper, or do you want to watch it happen somewhere else? I think that’s something that everyone’s talking about right now.”
Sportsbooks growing interest in prediction markets
Last week, FanDuel and PENN also commented on their interest in prediction markets. Flutter CEO Peter Jackson talked about the possibility of bringing the company’s UK trading site, Betfair, to the American market. Additionally, PENN CEO Jay Snowden said the company would get involved if the opportunity arose.
Robins was less committal on the possibility of DraftKings opening up a prediction markets arm of their business. However, given the company operates in more states than any other sportsbook, it would be a surprise if they did not join any moves by PENN or Flutter.
Push for more legal sports betting
Robins’ comments suggest that rather than eyeing up a move into prediction markets, the company will continue pushing for increased legalization of betting. The Boston-based businessman mentioned California, which has been a big focus for DraftKings. The gambling operator spent $243.8 million on lobbying for Proposition 27, which proposed legalizing California sports betting.
Tribal leaders vehemently opposed the idea, however, and despite the financial outlay, only 17% of Golden State residents voted in favor of the proposal.
Since that defeat, the company has been working with tribal groups in California as well as Texas in an attempt to soften their stance on opening up the betting market. Robins will hope that the success of Kalshi in defeating state regulators in court could bring a change in attitude and lead to more avenues for DraftKings to expand.
In their Q1 earnings report, the company generated $1.4 billion in revenue, a 20% increase from the first quarter last year, but slightly lower than the expected $1.43 billion. In light of this, the company readjusted their yearly expected earnings from $6.3 – $6.6 billion down to $6.2 – $6.4 billion.
Adam is an experienced writer with years of experience in the gambling industry. He has worked as a content writer and editor for five years on sites such as Oddschecker, CoinTelegraph and Gambling Industry News, bringing excellent knowledge of the world of sports betting and online gambling. Adam focuses on emerging stories in the ever changing landscape of betting in the US. Read the latest on prediction markets, changing legislation, and sweepstakes.
