Jefferies, Confident About DraftKings Amid In-Play Betting Surge

DraftKings looks ready to take advantage of one of the fastest-growing trends in online sports betting, namely, in-play and proposition wagers. At least, that’s the latest assessment from Jefferies Equity Research analyst David Katz, who, in a September 9 investor note, pointed to “strengthening trends around in-play betting” as a key driver for the operator.

In-Play Betting, “Very Important” for Players 

Katz highlighted that the company, which recently published excellent Q2 2025 results and set all-time highs in revenue and Adjusted EBITDA, is not a lone wolf in the story. Sportradar, which supplies the data backbone for many operators, also stands to gain from the rising demand for in-game wagers. 

The same goes for Flutter Entertainment, which recently preserved its impressive ranking as a top investment opportunity on Goldman Sachs’ prestigious Hedge Fund VIP list.

According to Jefferies’ data, in-play betting activity has climbed 10% since the first quarter, while 54% of respondents said they had tried single-game parlays and 43% reported making multi-game parlays.

The analyst stressed that event-based prediction markets remain a smaller niche compared with sports betting. Even though contracts have reached 60% U.S. market penetration, he wrote, they show “further evidence of its capped economic ceiling” when stacked against online wagering.

By contrast, prop bets are now central to how people engage with sportsbooks. Jefferies found that 84% of bettors had placed at least one proposition wager, either tied to specific in-game moments or the overall outcome. 

“Furthermore, players are putting more of an emphasis on these types of bets, with 44% of respondents noting that in-play betting availability was ‘very important’ to them (up 9pts vs. June),” Katz explained. 

He also noted that a quarter of players who had previously dismissed prop bets had changed their minds since June.

Football and Basketball, Top Two Sports 

That shift is affecting how fans watch sports, with 92% of survey respondents saying more betting options would make games more enjoyable, and half arguing it would be a major improvement. 

Football (70%) and basketball (62%) led as the top sports for in-play betting, while women accounted for 40% of all respondents, “which we believe may be an under-appreciated demographic of bettors, with specific preferences that differ from men.”

Operators like BetMGM, which introduced its pioneering gift cards branded by Canadian sportsbook TAPP in July, and Fanatics, ranked the 18th private company globally with a valuation of $31 billion, received strong consumer support in the study. 

On the other hand, Caesars Sportsbook and ESPN Bet lagged. Overall, more players expect to bet more in the months ahead, from 32% in June to 41% at present.

Despite challenges such as new taxes, state-level slowdowns, and the rise of event contracts, Katz concluded that the industry has largely priced in those pressures. “Finally, we still see in-play betting as a new leg higher in handle, regardless of new state legalizations, and believe that DKNG is likely to be the leader in in-play due to its acquisition of SimpleBet and focus on the vertical,” he wrote.