Sports betting and fantasy sports operator DraftKings has recently announced an endeavor to target slot customers for its iGaming platform and believes that this core group is integral to the company’s growth in the online casino gaming market.
Marketing Lapses
DraftKings CEO Jason Robins believes the company has ignored the lucrative slot market and is attempting to correct that error through marketing efforts. Robins spoke at the Bank of America Securities 2025 Gaming & Lodging Conference last Thursday and revealed the company is now focusing on its slot customers more intently, which will ultimately bolster its bottom line.
“I think that we didn’t maybe appreciate and go as hard after as we are now, the opportunity for a slots first customer,” Robins said. “So, I think it’s a big opportunity for us. … There’s clearly a lot of low-hanging fruit there.
When asked if he believes the company’s slot product should be improved, Robins responded, “I think there’s some element that’s product, but most of it, I think, is the marketing and who you’re going after, like you were saying. … So that’s something that we are adjusting now. And hopefully, we’ll have some real opportunity there.”
Catching Up to Other Operators
Although DraftKings routinely engages in cross-selling its products to its sports betting customers, it did not specifically focus on slots, and because of it, its iGaming revenue has trailed its rival powerhouse, FanDuel, demonstrably.
Robins stated the company “failed to capture the slots-first customer segment” but has vowed to correct this by strengthening its marketing campaigns towards slot players.
During a second-quarter earnings call earlier this year, Robins made a similar observation, stating, “And I think where we have our big opportunity is with that slots, casino-first player that we believe there’s many, many more out there using competitor apps that we will be able to provide a great offering and maybe at this point, don’t think of DraftKings as much as a place that they would go do that and think of us more as a sports brand.”
Robins added, “So I think there’s a lot of good stuff on the product side and feel really good about that. And I think really, there’s a big opportunity to continue to build our brand and reach that slots’ first customer.”
A Taxing Problem
The sports betting industry has been under assault by legislatures wanting a bigger share of the revenues. Taxes on sports betting revenue have increased across the nation, and Illinois became the first state to not only tax the revenue but also impose a 25-cent per bet fee on sportsbooks for the first 20 million wagers, increasing to 50 cents per bet on volume more than that.
Many of the sportsbooks have simply passed that cost onto their customers in the Land of Lincoln, but have vowed to rescind the fee if the per-bet tax gets repealed. Thus far, that has not happened much to the chagrin of sports bettors in Illinois, but Robins was asked about this trend that continues to take a bite out of his company’s bottom line.
“I think a lot of that’s been exhausted,” Robins said. “And I think that more likely than not, the next focus will be iGaming for new sources of revenue in some of those states.”
DraftKings operates its online casinos in five states and in Ontario, Canada. Three of which also feature the company’s Golden Nugget Online Gaming platform.
