After a Supreme Court Ruling, DraftKings Is Getting into Sports Betting
The Boston company isn't wasting any time.
Paul Liberman, co-founder and COO of DraftKings | Photo via AP/Charles Krupa
Immediately after the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling on Monday that will permit states to allow sports betting, Boston-based DraftKings announced it will be getting into the lucrative business as soon as possible.
The court on Monday overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which the company described in an announcement Monday as “outdated.” The ruling finds that states that want to allow sports betting are free to do so.
“Our mission has always been to bring fans closer to the sports they love and now, thanks to the wisdom of the Supreme Court, DraftKings will be able to harness our proven technology to provide our customers with innovative online sports betting products,” Jason Robins, CEO and co-founder of DraftKings, said in a statement. “This ruling gives us the ability to further diversify our product offerings and build on our unique capacity to drive fan engagement.”
DraftKings has been preparing since 2017 for a push into sports betting, according to the company’s announcement.
In a pitch to states like Massachusetts would have to vote to legalize sports betting in order for it to be offered here, Robins described the ruling as an opportunity to peel people away from illicit betting markets and collect new tax revenue. “Today’s Supreme Court ruling is welcome news to the millions of Americans who currently wager $150 billion illegally each year through off-shore, black market bookies,” he said. “States are now free to allow their residents to place mobile sports bets with licensed, trusted companies based in the U.S. and that pay taxes here.”
The new business strategy is a predictable one, as the company has grown in a few short years to one of the world’s largest platforms for daily fantasy sports betting—a rise that has led to extensive legal battles with state officials.
