Gaming the Games

DraftKings helped unleash daily fantasy and sports betting on the masses. In its quest to turn a profit, the company is doubling down-searching for even more ways to turn fandom into a game.

- By Bruce Schoenfeld. Ilustrations by bratislav Milenkovic

Jason Robins, co-founder and CEO of the sports betting firm DraftKings, is standing at a construction site on a street corner outside wrigley field on a sweltering summer morning. Beside him is Crane Kenney, the Chicago Cubs' president of business operations. They pose for pictures, pens in hand. Then they use them to sign a ceremonial steel girder.

The Cubs are building a multi-level addition to Wrigley Field, a National Historic Landmark, where the team has been playing baseball since 1916. DraftKings will pay an undisclosed amount to the team for the right to transform the space into a 17,400-square-foot betting parlor, which is scheduled to debut in 2023. The DraftKings sportsbook will be open during Cubs games, and every other day of the year. The Cubs will get a percentage of food and beverage income. DraftKings will keep the gambling profits.

Like most sportsbooks, DraftKings does nearly all of its business virtually. Since betting lines rarely vary by much from one oddsmaker to the next, its products are basically commodities. In an effort to create some brand stickiness, DraftKings spends liberally— if not wildly—on marketing: an astonishing $981 million in 2021, representing three-quarters of its entire income. Despite that, if competitors like FanDuel or BetMGM offer you an extra half-point on the wager you’re planning to make, you’ll probably take it. Even if you happen to be wearing DraftKings swag at the time.