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.
'Unicorn Hunters' gives business owners the potential of reaching a billion-dollar valuation, but before they can get the capital they have to impress the 'Circle of Money.' Rosie Rios, former U.S. Treasurer and co-host of 'Unicorn Hunters,' joins Cheddar News to talk more about the show.
There's a new ETF designed to offer investors exposure to 'meme stocks.' Roundhill Investments launched it earlier this month and says the ETF is the first that is explicitly designed to track the performance of meme stocks. Roundhill Investments Vice President of Research Mario Stefanidis joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Jared Madfes, Partner at Tribe Capital, joins Cheddar's Closing Bell, where he says crypto investors should continue to focus on the long-term despite the recent price boost in the hours following Wednesday's Fed decision.
Mobile bill payment application Papaya recently raised $50 million in a series B round led by Bessemer Venture Partners.
Papaya lets users take a photo of any bill, and the app's AI-powered 'bill understanding technology' pays the bill in seconds. The company says its goal is to help people spend more time on things that matter, by making bill-paying as painless and quick as possible. Papaya CEO and co-founder Patrick Kann joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
If you're looking for a date, 2022 might be your year. Online dating platform Bumble is buzzing with dating predictions from its latest survey. Shan Boodram, sex and relationships expert at Bumble, joined Cheddar to discuss some of the findings and what people can expect from the future dating landscape. Some of the results showed that public displays of affection are back on the rise as more people get vaccinated and that more users are opting for alcohol-free first dates. She also explained the trend of "explori-dating," a way that users are attempting to get out of their comfort zone. "People are willing to date outside of their city to get to that," she said.
Anthony Martini, Chief Music Officer of Slip.stream, and Jesse Korwin, CMO of Slip.stream, talk about the challenges creators have uploading music on Twitch and how 'Slip.stream' prioritizes artists by streamlining the licensing process.
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: Nucleus CEO breaks down what the future of the genomics industry looks like; Biomilq Co-Founders explains how they are is recreating the process of milk production outside the body to combine both nutrition and practicality for new moms; A look at Curiosity Stream's 'Top Science Stories 2021.'
