Who Owns DraftKings?

DraftKings is an American digital sports entertainment and gaming company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Jason Robins, Matthew Kalish, and Paul Liberman cofounded the company in 2012. DraftKings’ first product was a one-on-one baseball competition. Major League Baseball invested in the company in Apr 2013. By Feb 2014, DraftKings had 50,000 active daily users.

In Q3 2023, the online gambling platform posted a 40% increase in average monthly unique players (MUPs) to 2.3 million. [1]

DraftKings specializes in fantasy sports contests and sports betting. Users can enter daily and weekly competitions and win money based on individual player performances.

As of Jan 2024, DraftKings was an official daily fantasy partner of the NFL, NHL, PGA TOUR, UFC, and NASCAR. The company is also an authorized gaming operator of MLB and the sports betting partner of the NFL, NHL, PGA TOUR, UFC, and the NBA. [2]

DraftKings’ partnership with the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, PGA TOUR, NASCAR, and UFC offers access to all top American sports on a single platform. However, the company also provides a multi-platform content ecosystem with original programming through DraftKings Network and Vegas Sports Information Network (VSiN).

These offerings contribute to its growth. In 2023, DraftKings shares rose 209.5%. The company is launching new services to grab opportunities in the expanding American market. But who owns DraftKings? [3]

Image Credit Stem List — Image Credit: Stem List

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Who is DraftKings’ Parent Company?

DraftKings is a standalone, public company without a parent organization. It is owned by its shareholders and guided by state and national gaming and gambling regulations. In 2023, DraftKings made an all-stock acquisition offer for UK betting operator 888. DraftKings dropped the deal after the revelation that UK regulators were investigating 888 for tax bribery. 888 would have helped DraftKings expand internationally. [4]

DraftKings is known for its online fantasy sports and sports gambling platforms. It provides DraftKings Sportsbook for sports betting and iGaming for gaming. In Jan 2024, DraftKings launched its top-rated online Sportsbook in Vermont.

It expands DraftKings Sportsbook to 26 US states and Ontario, Canada. Consumers can access DraftKings’ iGaming in five US states and Ontario, Canada. [5]

DraftKings is America’s first vertically integrated sports betting operator. The company is seeking new opportunities by blending gambling and marketing. In Jan 2023, DraftKings and Molson Coors collaborated to allow fans to predict specific sections of Coors’ Super Bowl ad.

The brands offered prizes for correct predictions from a $500,000 pool. The partnership capitalizes on the Super Bowl culture and the growing popularity of sports betting. [6]

DraftKings is not yet profitable. The company recorded a 44% revenue increase in 2023 and reduced its net loss. Most analysts predict that DraftKings won’t be profitable in 2024.

A few Wall Street pros expect DraftKings to deliver over 90% improvement compared to two years ago. Some analysts see DraftKings cutting its full-year deficit by more than half. [7]

Image Credit Aidan Howe — Image Credit: Aidan Howe

DraftKings’ Ownership History

Jason Robins, Matthew Kalish, and Paul Liberman are DraftKings’ founders and original owners. The three friends and co-workers were dissatisfied with their jobs and spent time outside work discussing business ideas and playing fantasy leagues.

In 2011, they brainstormed about creating a daily fantasy sports product to rival season-long alternatives. This idea marked the conception of DraftKings.

Kalish, Robins, and Liberman quit their jobs to establish DraftKings. They pooled $25,000 from their savings and hired a lawyer to help them incorporate DraftKings in Massachusetts. A spare bedroom in Liberman’s apartment became DraftKings’ headquarters. The company secured $1.4 million in Series A funding to build the DraftKings Fantasy Sports mobile app. The app was launched in 2012 to coincide with MLB’s opening day. [8]

DraftKings expanded its offering through strategic acquisitions, including StarStreet and DraftStreet in 2014, VSiN in 2021, and Golden Nugget Online Gaming in 2022. StarStreet and DraftStreet cemented DraftKings’ position as one of the top players of the daily fantasy sports (DFS).

In Feb 2024, DraftKings agreed to acquire lottery app Jackpocket for $750 million.

Jackpocket allows customers to order official lottery tickets in multiple states, including New York, Texas, and Ohio. [9]

DraftKings became the NHL’s official DFS service in 2014 and MLB’s DFS partner in 2015. These moves rattled the industry giant FanDuel. In 2017, FanDuel agreed to merge with DraftKings. However, the FTC blocked the merger because it would have created a monopoly. [10]

DraftKings unveiled DraftKings Sportsbook in New Jersey in Aug 2018 to enter the sports betting market. DraftKings Sportsbook was launched in New Jersey as the first legal and online sports betting platform on mobile.

In Apr 2020, DraftKings went public through a merger with Diamond Eagle Acquisition Company and SBTech. The $3.3 billion IPO allowed external investors to own a stake in DraftKings. [11]

DraftKings’ Shareholder Structure

DraftKings’ shareholder structure includes institutions, insiders, individual investors, and public companies. In 2023, DraftKings had 393,013,951 Stock A shares and 485,520,528 Stock B shares. Each share class has one vote. Its Stock B includes 441,706,221 free-float shares. [12]

DraftKings’ 1171 investors have filed 13D/G or 13F forms with the US SEC. Schedule 13D indicates that the shareholder has or had over 5% of shares and intends to leverage their stake to influence business strategies. As of Feb 2024, institutional investors owned 395,978,882 shares. [13]

DraftKings has 908 institutions holding shares. They own 69.80% of the shares and 73.43% of the float. As of Dec 2023, Vanguard Group was DraftKings’ largest shareholder, with 8.29%. This figure represents 39,263,911 shares.

Blackrock is the second-largest shareholder with 4.49% or 21,242,235 shares, followed by ARK Investment at 2.6%, Wellington Management at 2.27%, and State Street Corporation at 1.86%. Other top DraftKings’ shareholders include Sumitomo Mitsui Trust at 1.77%, Whale Rock Capital at 1.6%, Nikko Asset Management at 1.58%, Morgan Stanley at 1.55%, and Capital Research Global Investors at 1.51%. [14]

DraftKings’ top 25 investors own 50% of the company. As of Mar 2023, the general public had a 36% stake in DraftKings. This segment includes retail and individual investors. Its insiders have a stake worth $336 million. DraftKings’ shareholder structure also has public companies that own a 4% share. [15]

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