DraftKings' stock has been below its 200-day moving average for almost a full year, Jason Robins was told on air — and he did not dispute the number.
Most CEOs facing that kind of investor overhang lead with reassurance. Robins led with data he says he has and investors mostly don't: internal numbers showing the company's new predictions business is not eating into its sportsbook at all.
"We have strong data showing that cannibalization is not occurring and that it will not have any material effect on our core sports betting business."
Robins co-founded and runs DraftKings, which just made its predictions product available nationwide for the first time as the NFL season opened.
I listened to the full interview so you can skip it.
Here are the 5 takeaways that matter.
👤 Guest: Jason Robins, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of DraftKings
🎙️ Host: Bloomberg's Romaine Bostick
📰 Published: 10 September 2026 on YouTube (Bloomberg Television)
🔴 YouTube | 🟣 Apple Podcasts | ⏱️ 9 min
Key Takeaways
DraftKings' predictions product went nationwide for the first time this NFL season
Previously it was unavailable in many states
Robins says internal data shows no cannibalization between predictions and the core sportsbook
He says the data shows no material effect on the sports-betting business either
DraftKings has stayed out of every court case over prediction-markets legality
Rivals like Kalshi are fighting it out up to the Ninth Circuit and a New Jersey Supreme Court petition
The stock has traded below its 200-day moving average for nearly a year, and Robins calls the whole predictions story "a bit of a prove it story"
The ESPN and NBC partnerships now reach nationwide for the first time
Robins says that makes them far more valuable than before
1. Predictions Go Nationwide
Robins opened by framing this NFL season as the first time DraftKings' newer prediction-markets product has been available across the whole country.
"We have now our sports product available nationwide, which is the first time we've really been able to do that." He called it a big driver of what he expects to be a strong season for the company
Asked about growth expectations against last year's numbers, he said he expects growth across every product line, but singled out predictions as likely the biggest source of growth this fall
He declined to give specific figures for how business split between the sportsbook and predictions on night one of the season, saying only that updates would come "in the not too distant future"
Sportsbook and iGaming, he said, are both still growing at a healthy, strong pace on their own
2. No Cannibalization, He Says
Pressed on how the sportsbook and the newer predictions business coexist, Robins pointed to internal data rather than a promise.
"We have strong data showing that cannibalization is not occurring and that it will not have any material effect on our core sports betting business." He said DraftKings has more of this data than the average investor, even though much of it is technically public
He framed the skepticism as structural, not personal. "In general, investors, they want certainty. They don't like uncertainty" — and a genuinely disruptive new product line can look risky before the numbers catch up
His own framing of the moment: "It is a bit of a prove it story for sure." He said DraftKings has a track record of launching and competing in new product categories successfully over many years, and is "happy to go out there and put our money where our mouth is"
3. Staying Out of the Lawsuits
Asked about the wave of litigation around prediction markets — including a Ninth Circuit ruling and a New Jersey Supreme Court petition just docketed — Robins drew a sharp line around his own company's role.
"We're not involved in any of these things. So we're going to stay on the sidelines." He said DraftKings operates predictions only in states where it is not legal online sports betting territory it is licensed for, and has stayed out of the actual court cases entirely
Asked what outcome he wants from the Supreme Court case, he said the goal is clarity, not a particular side: "It would be nice to just get a clear answer and understand what the rules of the road are. And we're happy to operate under whatever that clear answer might be"
He said an unclear outcome that spawns more litigation would be the worse result, though he called that scenario unlikely
Asked how DraftKings squares its own predictions push with lawsuits accusing it of operating outside regulation, he said the company itself has not been sued by any state — only by private civil plaintiffs, a different category he addressed separately
4. Civil Suits Are Routine
Challenged on DraftKings' 10-Q disclosure of at least three lawsuits, Robins drew a distinction between regulatory action and ordinary civil litigation.
"We get sued for stuff all the time... it's the litigious society we live in." He said DraftKings takes every suit seriously, but that any new business category invites lawsuits as a matter of course
His emphasis was on the regulatory relationship rather than the courtroom. He said DraftKings has worked to keep an open dialogue with regulators in every state where it operates, understanding what they are trying to achieve, which he called "a really good process" with positive outcomes for both sides
5. ESPN and NBC Pay Off
Asked what the company's media partnerships are actually doing for the business, Robins pointed to reach rather than just brand value.
DraftKings' deal with ESPN is now bigger than at any point in their multi-year relationship. He also cited the NFL opening game airing on NBC, where DraftKings has a partnership
The nationwide predictions rollout is what makes these partnerships newly valuable. Where DraftKings previously could not offer predictions in many states, the product is now relevant to "almost everybody in the entire country," which he said makes the ESPN and NBC deals worth more than before
Bonus Insights
Robins noted the unusually light sports calendar this past summer, with the World Cup as the one major exception, ahead of what he called an especially busy fall with all four major US sports leagues underway at once
He was not asked and did not volunteer specific handle or revenue figures for the season's opening weekend, consistent with his stated plan to share updates later rather than in the moment
Robins' throughline is that the case for DraftKings' predictions business rests on data he says he has and the market does not yet believe — and that the coming quarters, not this interview, are where that gets tested.
Products, Companies & Tools Mentioned
DraftKings (Robins' company: sportsbook, iGaming and a predictions product now live nationwide for the first time this NFL season)
Kalshi (Referenced by the host as the prediction-markets rival embroiled in the legal fight DraftKings says it has stayed out of)
ESPN and NBC (DraftKings' media partners; the nationwide predictions launch is what Robins says makes both deals more valuable than before)
National Football League (The season whose kickoff weekend framed the interview, and the first NFL season with DraftKings' predictions product available everywhere)
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