Fantasy sports platform DraftKings is betting on sports gambling, CEO Jason Robins told Cheddar at SXSW.
It’s a reversal for the company, which has long held it’s a game of skill, and not a game of chance.
But the move all hinges on a pending legal battle in DC.
“The Supreme Court is considering New Jersey’s case to allow for sports betting in their state, which, depending on how they rule, could effectively end up removing the federal ban on legalizing and regulating sports wagering,” Robins said.
States across the U.S., with the exception of Nevada, have banned sports gambling for 25 years.
But in 2012, former New Jersey’s Governor, Republican Chris Christie, signed a bill into law that effectively legalized sports betting. That set off a series of legal challenges from sports leagues, including the NCAA, the NFL, and the NBA. The case landed in front of the Supreme Court in December 2017, with a decision expected in a few months.
In anticipation, DraftKings has already started building out a product that would facilitate sports betting and is looking into partnerships with licensed brick-and-mortar casinos and content integration.
There is one thing that’s not on the company’s immediate horizon, though: an IPO.
“We eventually want to go public, but I don’t think right now is the right time for us. Probably in the next couple years,” Robins said. “There’s still a lot of work we need to do to be prepared to be a public company.”
Last week reports emerged that rival FanDuel, with whom the company unsuccessfully tried to merge in 2016, was looking to go public through a so-called reverse merger.
Breaking down the good, the bad, and the new in business on Monday, June 13, 2022, with JP Morgan's bullish Apple take, EV startup Electric Last Mile Solutions planning to declare bankruptcy, and Amazon getting ready to roll out its new drone delivery service in California.
Tech apprenticeship platform Multiverse became a unicorn with a $1.7 billion valuation, after raising $220 million in a Series D round. As companies across the country face challenges in hiring and retaining tech talent, Multiverse says it's trying to offer a solution with a new way to train and hire workers that can serve as an alternative to college and corporate training. Sophie Ruddock, VP and GM North America of Multiverse, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Bitcoin's price has fallen below $24,000, its lowest level since December 2020. Matt Hougan, CIO at Bitwise Asset Management, joined Cheddar News to discuss the future of crypto amid the latest high-profile point of concern, the halting of withdrawals at Celsius Network. "Last month we saw Luna collapse. This month we're seeing Celsius possibly collapsing," he said. "So this stress test is finding weaknesses in the crypto ecosystem and it will continue until we get to a strong foundation from which crypto can recover."
An analyst at JP Morgan is predicting massive future growth for Apple in its music and gaming divisions — to the tune of more than $8 billion in revenue by 2025. Cheddar News anchors Kristen Scholer and Hena Doba discuss the glowing forecast for the tech giant.
