The entrance of ESPN Bet last month had no impact on DraftKings customers, the company told Jeffrey Stantial of Stifel in a report published Friday.
VP of Investor Relations Joe DeCristofaro and Director of Finance Michael Delailo said ESPN Bet appears to be growing the overall market. That tracks given ESPN’s marketing content, some of which specifically targets women, Stantial said.
Its new Progressive Parlay feature should drive more overall parlays as a percentage of handle and expand hold rates, DraftKings said.
Near-term upgrades for DraftKings Sportsbook include upgrades to the user experience, expanded early cashout (in particular with same-game parlays,) and more first-party content for its iGaming component.
DraftKings deciding what to do with cash
The company should have more than $1.2 billion in cash on the balance sheet at the end of the year, while also becoming free cash flow positive in 2024.
Dividends, acquisitions, geographic expansion as well as “logical adjacencies” are all on the board, Stantial said.
Any acquisitions would likely be bolt-ons instead of a transformative deal, he added. One potential acquisition that makes sense is microbetting platform Simplebet, Stantial said.
E&K: bet365 best UK sports betting app
The best UK sports betting app in Eilers & Krejcik testing is bet365, according to their fourth quarter report.
The app is “materially outperforming” Flutter‘s Sky Bet in second and 888‘s William Hill in third.
Flutter, the parent company of FanDuel, also had Paddy Power rank fourth and Betfair fifth.
Oklahoma gets iGaming, sort of
Online gaming is now available in Oklahoma, but there is a major catch.
The Chickasaw Nation launched class II mobile gaming through a partnership with Playtech and Aristocrat‘s Anaxi.
The catch is those games are only playable when physically present at the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, about a 90–mile drive from downtown Dallas.
Legislators: Delaware needs new sports betting approach
The Delaware Internet Sports Lottery Legislative Working Group recommended opening the market to multiple online sports betting operators.
Delaware could generate $30.7 million in tax revenue over the first five years and more than $9 million annually after with a competitive sports betting market, according to Eilers & Krejcik.
Just one problem: the lottery recently signed a new contract with Rush Street Interactive to serve as the sole sports betting and iGaming operator in the state.
Despite having legal clearance, Delaware has not launched online sports betting yet post-PASPA, though it should now launch by the end of the first quarter.
Simplebet grows NCAA football betting
Simplebet’s live markets saw both college football betting handle and the total number of bets jumped 120% this season compared to last year.
All four of the College Football Playoff teams ranked in the top 10 for bets placed, with Michigan ranking the highest at third.
Ohio State had the most in-game bets while Deion Sanders‘s Colorado team ranked second.
Hard Rock expands social gaming
Hard Rock Digital created a new business segment, Hard Rock Games, for its free-to-play games.
The decision comes after acquiring WGames, which gives Hard Rock enhanced in-house tech and improved capabilities to grow its social business.
WGames founder Daniel Kajouie will serve as managing director of the new segment.
