Jason Robins Says DraftKings Wants to Be Like Amazon

DraftKings CEO Jason Robins wants to follow Amazon’s example and create a company that transcends its original goal and purpose.

Robins Talks about DraftKings Long-Term Goals as Company 

DraftKings CEO Jason Robins is the latest big gambling company executive who spoke with Varney & Co on Tuesday. Hosted by FOX Business’ Stuart Varney, the podcast dug into what DraftKings wants to achieve over the coming years.

“We certainly have ambitions to one day be like an Amazon,” Robins said, explaining that Amazon started as a bookseller but transcended its humble beginnings. That is why DraftKings itself is not just a sports gambling company but also a technology one.

The company’s most recent foray into the NFT (non-fungible token) space, which begin today, is just the latest indication of DraftKings’ ability to innovate and position itself in line with market trends. 

His comments were given additional weight as DraftKings announced that it’s buying Golden Nugget Inc. just a day earlier in a landmark $1.56 billion deal. As a result, DraftKings is going to reach another 5 million customers through the Golden Nugget brand.

“We have ambitions to be a very multi-product base company well beyond online gaming, […] and we are looking for products that we think overlap well with our existing customer demographics,” Robins outlined his plans. DraftKings is constantly on the lookout for new verticals that would allow the company to expand into new sectors, whether they have to do with digital collectibles, sports, entertainment, or something else.

A Marketplace to Bring New Engagement Channels 

The DraftKings Marketplace is only getting started, but it already seems a promising initiative that will dovetail nicely with the executive’s bigger vision for the company. DraftKings will be working closely with Tom Brady’s Autograph.io to distribute various assets signed by prominent sports figures, Brady included, but also Tony Hawks, Tiger Woods and others. 

Robins plans on enabling the marketplace to have more functionality, such as auctions, secondary markets and “other things.” He expressed his satisfaction with the current pace of development of the NFT sector and said that with such promising results early on, there was no telling where the NFT industry may end up. 

DraftKings feels strongly about the success of its Marketplace, which will lead to new customer-acquisition models, Robins noted. The company has been one of the earliest innovators in sports gambling and sports experiences.

Originally a daily fantasy sports company, DraftKings has launched a mainstream sports gambling product as soon as PASPA was repealed in 2018. Today, the company sits as one of the three biggest sports companies in the country and develops its own platforms and products.

However, tech has taken precedence in a bid to improve the overall sports experience, and NFTs are just one of the steps DraftKings is making forward to transform it from an oddsmaker to the Amazon of the sports gambling space and beyond.