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.
While many still remain skeptical about the metaverse, big tech firms and even one big bank are ready to expand their virtual worlds. Facebook parent company has pivoted so hard it will now call its employees 'Metamates,' and even JPMorgan Chase has created its own digital lounge on one virtual platform. While the sector remains young, there seems to be significant investment opportunity, especially with companies like Nvidia. Adam Johnson, a portfolio strategist at Adviser Investments, joins Closing Bell to discuss which companies could win in this space, consumer appetite, and more.
Marc Blinder, Co-Founder and CEO of Aikon, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he discusses how his company is helping businesses use blockchain applications without needing to learn the intricacies of the new technology.
Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) have introduced a new bill to afford greater protection to minors on social media. The genesis of the Kids Online Safety Act came from a Facebook whistleblower case exposing the harm apps can have on the mental health of young girls.
Ride share competitors Uber and Lyft both posted their fourth quarter earnings days apart from each other. Both companies have been trying to get back on their feet after taking some pandemic-related hits, but the Omicron variant had other ideas as the year came to a close, with each company taking a hit in ridership in December. Lance Ippolito, head trader at The Future of Wealth explains how Uber and Lyft measured up this earnings period and why Uber may still have an edge over the competition.
