Description
DraftKings is an American daily fantasy sports contest and sports betting operator. The company allows users to enter daily and weekly fantasy sports–related contests and win money based on individual player performances in five major American sports (MLB, the NHL, the NFL, the NBA and the PGA), Premier League and UEFA Champions League soccer, NASCAR auto racing, Canadian Football League, the XFL, mixed martial arts (MMA) and Tennis.
In August 2018, DraftKings launched DraftKings Sportsbook in New Jersey becoming the first legal mobile sports betting operator in the state. Since launching in New Jersey, DraftKings has opened mobile sports betting operations in Indiana, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and opened in New Hampshire December 30, 2019 after reaching contract with the New Hampshire Lottery. Retail sports betting is available in Iowa, Mississippi and New York. DraftKings Sportsbook mobile and retail sports betting products allow bettors in each state engage in betting for most major U.S. and international sports.
As of April 2016, the majority of U.S. states consider fantasy sports (including daily fantasy sports) a game of skill and not gambling. In November 2016, FanDuel and DraftKings, the two largest companies in the daily fantasy sports industry, reached an agreement to merge. However the merger was terminated in July 2017 due to it being blocked by the Federal Trade Commission as the combined company would have controlled a 90 percent of the market for daily fantasy sports. As of July 2017, DraftKings had eight million users.
In April 2020, DraftKings became a publicly traded company through a reverse merger with a special-purpose acquisition company.
