Sports betting: the business behind the odds
A two-company market is now racing into a new business entirely: prediction markets.
Two companies control roughly 80% of the US market
FanDuel and DraftKings together hold approximately 80% of the national online sports betting market, with DraftKings alone at about 28-32% share, positioning it as the clear second behind FanDuel. The remaining share splits between BetMGM, Fanatics Sportsbook, Caesars Sportsbook, and a handful of regional and tribal operators. Notably, PENN Entertainment's ESPN BET partnership — which had captured only about 3% share — ended in December 2025 after PENN and ESPN mutually agreed to part ways.
Source: RG.org US Betting Statistics →DraftKings and FanDuel are each spending $300 million to push into prediction markets
The two operators disclosed a combined $600 million in 2026 marketing spend specifically for prediction markets — event contracts that let users bet on outcomes like elections and weather, regulated federally by the CFTC rather than state gambling regulators. DraftKings CEO Jason Robins called it one of the fastest business lines to reach profitability in company history, with per-customer prediction-market volume already exceeding traditional sportsbook handle.
Source: Deuces Cracked →DraftKings posted a profitable quarter and reaffirmed full-year guidance
DraftKings reported Q1 2026 revenue of $1.65 billion, up 17% year-over-year, with sportsbook revenue climbing 24% to $1.10 billion. The company maintained full-year guidance of $6.5-6.9 billion in revenue. FanDuel parent Flutter Entertainment beat quarterly expectations too, but trimmed full-year guidance and saw a CEO departure the same week — a reminder that even the market leader isn't immune to turbulence.
Source: Legal Sports Report →