Who Owns DraftKings?
DraftKings is the flagship brand of DraftKings Inc., a publicly traded company listed on Nasdaq under ticker DKNG and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 2012 by Jason Robins, Matthew Kalish, and Paul Liberman as a daily fantasy sports operator, the company went public via a SPAC merger in April 2020 and reported revenue of $6.05 billion for fiscal 2025 with 4.0 million average monthly unique payers.
Parent Company
Founded
2012
Status
Publicly Traded
Headquarters
United StatesOfficial Website
Who Owns DraftKings?
- Parent Company: DraftKings Inc.
- Ownership Type: Product line
- Company Type: Publicly Traded
- Stock Ticker: NASDAQ: DKNG
| Brand | Parent Company | Ownership Type |
|---|---|---|
| DraftKings | DraftKings Inc. | Product line |
Where to Buy
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DraftKings on AmazonHistory of DraftKings
- Founded: 2012
- Founders: Jason Robins, Matthew Kalish, Paul Liberman
DraftKings was founded in 2012 in Boston by Jason Robins, Matthew Kalish, and Paul Liberman, who had met working at Vistaprint. The first product was daily fantasy sports contests, a format that compressed season-long fantasy leagues into single-day salary-cap contests, launched initially from a spare room above a paint store.
Daily fantasy exploded in 2014 and 2015, fueled by aggressive television advertising in an arms race with FanDuel. The two companies together spent hundreds of millions on ads, drew regulatory scrutiny from state attorneys general over whether DFS constituted gambling, and announced a merger in 2016 that they abandoned in 2017 after the FTC signaled a challenge.
The 2018 Supreme Court decision in Murphy v. NCAA struck down the federal sports betting ban and changed everything. DraftKings launched its sportsbook in New Jersey in August 2018, the first legal online sportsbook outside Nevada, and state-by-state legalization created the market the company now leads.
In April 2020 DraftKings went public via the Diamond Eagle SPAC merger combined with the SBTech acquisition, gaining its own betting platform technology rather than licensing a third party's. The stock debuted amid the pandemic's sports shutdown and then rode the legalization wave as states kept opening.
Major acquisitions followed: Golden Nugget Online Gaming in 2022 for approximately $1.56 billion in stock, adding casino customers, and lottery courier Jackpocket in 2024 for approximately $750 million. The company launched its own pick'em product Pick6 to compete in the fantasy pick'em space.
Fiscal 2025 was the company's strongest year: revenue of $6.05 billion, up 27 percent, sportsbook handle of $53.6 billion, 4.0 million average monthly unique payers, and the company's first full-year positive net income at $3.7 million. In late 2025 DraftKings launched DraftKings Predictions, a CFTC-regulated event contracts product that extends the company into prediction markets on sports and other event outcomes, which management describes as a major incremental opportunity for 2026 and beyond.
About DraftKings Inc.
What does DraftKings Inc. own?
DraftKings owns the DraftKings sportsbook, casino, DFS, Pick6, and Predictions products, plus Golden Nugget Online Gaming, Jackpocket, and VSiN.
Is DraftKings publicly traded?
Yes. It trades on Nasdaq under ticker DKNG, having gone public in April 2020 through a SPAC merger combined with the SBTech acquisition.
Who founded DraftKings?
Jason Robins, Matthew Kalish, and Paul Liberman founded the company in Boston in 2012 as a daily fantasy sports operator. Robins remains CEO.
Where is DraftKings headquartered?
222 Berkeley Street, Boston, Massachusetts. The company is incorporated in Nevada.
How many brands does DraftKings own?
The core portfolio includes roughly eight brands and product lines, concentrated in the US sports betting, casino, fantasy, and lottery categories.
Who owns DraftKings?
Public shareholders. Founders hold Class B shares with ten votes each, giving them enhanced voting influence, but no single shareholder controls the company.
What is DraftKings' revenue?
Fiscal 2025 revenue was $6.05 billion with the first full-year net income of $3.7 million. Fiscal 2026 guidance runs $6.5 billion to $6.9 billion.
- Founded: 2012
- Headquarters: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- Company Type: Publicly Traded
- Stock: NASDAQ: DKNG
- Revenue: $6.05 billion (FY2025)
- Employees: Approximately 5,000
Where Is DraftKings Made / Based?
- Headquarters: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
DraftKings Categories & Tags
Awards & Recognition
DraftKings' sportsbook app regularly leads category ratings in the App Store among US betting apps. The company has appeared on Fortune's lists for workplace recognition and its executive team, led by Robins, features in SBC and EGR industry awards, including EGR's operator of the year recognition in past years.
DraftKings Recalls & Controversies
The formative controversy was the 2015 daily fantasy insider-play incident, when an employee won a large FanDuel contest amid questions about access to non-public ownership data, triggering attorney general investigations in New York and elsewhere and the industry's first wave of regulation. The employee was cleared by an independent investigation of using inside information, but the episode drove state licensing frameworks for DFS.
Responsible gambling scrutiny is ongoing and category-wide: regulators and researchers continue to examine advertising saturation, VIP host practices, and problem gambling costs. Massachusetts regulators fined the company in 2023 for accepting bets on in-state college teams in violation of state rules, a compliance matter resolved with a financial penalty. The company's prediction-market launch has drawn legal challenge from some state gaming regulators who argue sports event contracts are unlicensed wagering, with litigation ongoing as of 2026.
DraftKings Ownership: Pros & Cons
Advantages
- +Public listing provides capital access for state launches and acquisitions
- +Owned SBTech technology removes dependence on third-party platforms
- +Brand recognition rivals FanDuel as the category default
- +Fantasy player base gave it a pre-built acquisition funnel at legalization
- +Prediction markets open a federally regulated expansion channel
Considerations
- -Regulatory fragmentation makes each state a separate licensing battle
- -Prediction markets face live legal challenges from state regulators
- -Category-level responsible gambling exposure brings periodic fines
- -Competition with FanDuel keeps marketing and promo costs high
- -Share price remains volatile around legalization headlines and quarterly margins
Frequently Asked Questions About DraftKings
Sources & Further Reading
Competitors to DraftKings
These competing brands operate in the same categories and provide similar products or services. Compare key attributes to understand market positioning and competitive landscape.
| Brand | Parent Company | Country | Founded | Market Position | Primary Market | Gender Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allwyn | USA | 2015 | Mass market | United states | All Genders | |
| Underdog | United States | 2020 | Mass market | United states | All Genders |
Learn More About Competitors
Media EntertainmentPrizePicks
Owned by Allwyn International AG
Largest daily fantasy sports operator in North America, majority owned by lottery group Allwyn following a 2025 acquisition valued at up to $4.15 billion.
daily-fantasy-sportssports-bettingfantasy-sports
Media EntertainmentUnderdog Fantasy
Owned by Underdog
American fantasy sports and sports betting operator known for Pick'em games and Best Ball drafts, valued at over $1.2 billion in a 2025 funding round.
fantasy-sportssports-bettingpickem
Competitive Analysis
Market Positioning: DraftKings competes with 2 brands in the same categories, ranging from mass market to luxury positioning.
Geographic Distribution: Competitors are headquartered across multiple regions, indicating global competition in this market segment.
Brand Heritage: Competitor brands range from established heritage brands to newer market entrants, with founding years spanning several decades.
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Stake is privately owned, unlike DraftKings which is under a publicly traded parent company.
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ad-techad-optimizationheader-bidding
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Advergic is privately owned, unlike DraftKings which is under a publicly traded parent company.
Media EntertainmentAmong Us
Owned by InnerSloth
Multiplayer social deduction game developed by InnerSloth, released in 2018, in which players work together to complete tasks while identifying impostors.
social-deductionmultiplayer-gameindie-game
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Among Us is privately owned, unlike DraftKings which is under a publicly traded parent company.
Media EntertainmentArista Records
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American record label founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, now owned by Sony Music Entertainment, specializing in pop and R&B music.
record-labelmusicpop
Privately Owned
Arista Records is privately owned, unlike DraftKings which is under a publicly traded parent company.
DraftKings Inc. Stock Information
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