DraftKings has announced a policy change to the way it will process payments in future.
Starting from Monday (August 25), the Boston-based sportsbook and online casino will no longer allow credit card deposits to be made by users of its US products.
The move comes just a few weeks after Draft Kings was hit with a $450,000 fine by the Massachusetts Gaming Council (MGC) for accepting some credit card deposits to customers’ gambling accounts.
“DraftKings has made the strategic business decision to remove credit cards as a deposit option for sportsbook and casino in the United States,” a spokesperson confirmed.
“The change is intended to help customers avoid cash advance fees and higher interest rates often associated with this payment method and otherwise improve the deposit experience.
“Customers can still fund their DraftKings Sportsbook and casino accounts using debit cards, bank transfers (ACH), wire transfer, and payment platforms like PayPal, Venmo or Apple Pay (with an eligible payment method, such as a debit card), where permissible.”
Why Was DraftKings Fined By The MGC?
The Massachusetts statute does not allow sports betting site operators to accept either deposits or wagers funded by credit cards, regardless of which state the original deposits were made.
While doing a financial audit, DraftKings discovered three possible breaches of the regulation and reported itself to the MGC while continuing its internal investigation.
The firm reported three instances in May 2023, July 2023 and February 2024 in which it had accepted a total of $83,000 in credit card payments from 218 users, funding 1,160 unauthorised wagers.
Reasons put forward included a miscommunication among its own staff causing the first breach and a failed software fix being responsible for the next transgression.
The third breach saw DraftKings accept two credit-card funded wagers on its Pools product.
Despite reporting these incidents itself and attempting to rectify the problems, DraftKings was still fined $450,000 by the MGC for the delays in resolving each matter.
The summary ruling stated: “Even after discovering this non-compliance, DraftKings repeatedly failed to implement successful corrections to its platform to remedy the issue for nearly a year while also repeatedly reporting that the issue had been resolved.”
Record Revenue In Q2 2025
Aside from dealing with those regulatory issues, it has been a stellar few months for the sports betting app.
DraftKings set new quarterly records including $1.5 billion revenue in the second quarter of this year, with the sportsbook contributing $997.9 million, a powerful 45.3% year-over-year growth for the segment.
The firm also celebrated the news last Friday that it had been awarded one of two untethered licenses to operate in Missouri, along with Circa Sports, edging out competition from FanDuel.
“We set records for revenue, net income and Adjusted EBITDA in the second quarter, driven by an acceleration in revenue growth to 37% year-over-year,” said Jason Robins, DraftKings’ CEO and co-founder.
“We are pleased to be maintaining our fiscal year 2025 guidance, with revenue expected to be closer to the high end of our range, highlighting the strength of our platform as we prepare for an exciting new state launch.”
Jim Munro is a betting industry and gambling expert who has been a national newspaper journalist for over 30 years, predominantly at The Sunday Times and The Sun, where he wrote a weekly soccer betting column. Jim also worked on the launch of Virgin Bet with Gamesys and was subsequently head of editorial at LiveScore, the sports media and betting group.
