DraftKings is a US fantasy sports contest and betting operator that saw its second-quarter revenues hit US$298 million, a leap of 297 per cent year-on-year (YoY) pro forma.
If we keep the pro forma effect aside, the revenue increased by 320 per cent (YoY) compared to US$71 million during the same period in 2020.
Monthly Unique payers (MUPs) also increased by 281 per cent compared to Q2 2020, with 1.1 million paid customers, on average, sharing with DraftKings monthly during this period. The median income for MUP was US$80, representing a YoY increase of 26 per cent. The betting giants had previously announced revenues of US$312 million in Q1, a YoY increase of 253 per cent.
On top of this, DraftKings said it is raising its fiscal year 2021 revenue guidance, which previously had a range of US$1.05 billion to US$1.15 billion, to US$1.21 billion to US$1.29 billion. This equates to YoY’s growth of 88 per cent to 100 per cent and a 14 per cent increase compared to the point between the company’s previous direction.
Regardless of this, heavy expenditure on the likes of operations and marketing meant Boston-headquartered DraftKings was hit by a net loss of US$305.5 million for Q2, compared to a US$524.8 million net loss for the same period last year.
“DraftKings had a particularly strong second quarter of 2021, maintaining our impressive financial performance while also advancing into new areas, such as media and NFTs,” said Jason Robins, DraftKings’ co-founder, chief executive, and chairman of the board.
“We believe these expansion opportunities will enable us to further grow our customer base and generate additional revenues through cross-selling to our existing players.”
“We also are excited that the migration to our proprietary in-house online sports betting technology is substantially complete, with only one state remaining pending approval.”
Recently, the sports betting operators signed an agreement with Genius Sports, allowing them to access and utilize the company’s official sportsbook data, content, and fan engagement solutions. It also gives DraftKings access to Genius’ official data and live video feeds from over 170,000 events per year, including its National Football League (NFL) products.
In addition to its top-notch business, the company also announced plans to open its own sports bars, signed a deal with the Tom Brady-backed Autograph for a new Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) marketplace, and inflated its contract with Major League Baseball (MLB) to including the live streaming of games on the DraftKings app.