DraftKings CEO: FanDuel gives us a target to chase down
Jason Robins remains bullish on operator’s chances of taking online sports betting and igaming crowns as he pours cold water on M&A chat
DraftKings CEO Jason Robins has said the presence of market rivals FanDuel and BetMGM means the firm can’t take “anything for granted” as it looks to cement its place as the leading operator in the US.
Speaking on an investor call following the firm’s Q1 results, Robins was pushed on his strategy to close the gap to FanDuel. The Flutter Entertainment-owned operator holds a 50% market share in online sports betting in the US and has been held up as the shining-light brand by the Dublin-headquartered giant.
DraftKings netted an 84% year-on-year (YoY) jump in Q1 revenue to $770m as its losses narrowed once again, but pressure is on to not let FanDuel strengthen its hand even further in the online sports betting space.
DraftKings claimed a small win following the launch of online sports betting in its home state of Massachusetts in March, after taking 47% of handle in the state it its first few weeks of being live.
However, this was caveated with an aggressive marketing push from the Boston-based firm which eventually saw FanDuel edge ahead in the revenue battle.
Responding to questions on how Robins would plan to chip away at FanDuel’s existing leadership position, the CEO said product would be the kingmaker in the battle.
Robins said “We don’t take anything for granted. We assume that there’s always going to be a very competitive market. We don’t assume we [have] won anything or that we have anything that we can bank on yet.
“I think that keeps a lot of the edge and the competitive drive of the company. No doubt having a big competitor in FanDuel is also helpful. It gives us somebody on the online sports betting side to feel like we can chase down. Similarly, on the igaming side, we’ve been chasing down BetMGM,” he added.
The boss also pointed towards potential challenger brands coming into the space, with the operator having to look both forward and over its shoulder.
Robins continued: “Having that competitive landscape is helpful in keeping our employees focused on who we need to be. At the same time, we also understand that new competitors can enter the market at any time, and we can’t take anything for granted. We always have to be serving the customer and innovating and creating new products and features.”
Elsewhere, Robins said its short-term strategy would be pinned on this internal growth, with the M&A pipeline on pause.
Robins explained: “[M&A is] not really a focus of ours. We feel like we had really strong organic growth.
“We’re executing very well. We’re seeing natural consolidation of market share happen in the US. I think right now, that’s our focus. It doesn’t mean that down the road, M&A couldn’t become more interesting, but at the moment, we’re very focused on execution.”