G2E: Amy Howe and Jason Robins – Part 1: Technology and Taylor Swift
During G2E in Las Vegas, Amy Howe, CEO of FanDuel, and Jason Robins, CEO of DraftKings, sat down to discuss the US sports betting market together – as well as Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift
When talking about where the technology can go in sports betting, Amy Howe responded by stating, “We’re still in the relatively early days; looking at New Jersey or Pennsylvania, we might think that they are mature states, but they are still comparatively low when you compare them to more mature markets – and we still have more than 50% of the US to open up.
“From a product perspective, we’re at an inflection point where the US is really driving innovation forward. Think about what we’re seeing in live betting and those narratives that take off while we in the US are innovating to make it a simple and more intuitive experience.”
Robins then echoed Howe’s statement, saying, “We are in really early days. What’s really interesting about this market is that it isn’t a new product, it has existed since the beginning of time in some form, so there was a certain base thing that people wanted and that’s what we have been building out there.
“Now we’re in a phase where we’re asking, how do we innovate on top of that? How do we do things that haven’t existed before? How do we bring new players in by making it a less intimidating and user-friendly experience?
“Those weren’t even really thoughts at the beginning because every time a new state opens up there’s a massive market that’s ready to go and understands the product in a certain form and that’s what they want. So, it’s a really unique situation.”
As the pair continued, the topic of discussion moved to unregulated betting; Robins talked about getting players away from offshore sports betting. “There are millions and millions of people that are just like, ‘I come to Vegas, I’ve been betting with my bookie using the offshore.’ Our goal is to try and get them here.
“We have constraints; there are regulations and costs to bear that the illegal market does not. For us, it’s about how we create an experience that they want. Still, most money in the US is being wagered illegally.”
Howe then added, “Some of the stats that I found fascinating were some of the Google ones.
“On average, 50% of searches in the US are for elicit operators – and in states like California, Texas and Florida, which have yet to legalize, 80% of searches are for illicit operators. That’s reversed when you look at places like New Jersey, where it’s legal.”
The conversation then turned to the recent media spike that has engulfed Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
When asked if FanDuel and DraftKings have to ‘factor in Taylor Swift into what the odds are going to be,’ Robins replied, “We don’t factor her into the odds, but there has been more Kelce betting – and he hasn’t had a lot of great games since she has been watching. Just saying.”
Then, much to the delight (and collective eyerolls) of the crowd, the interviewer lit up the room by saying… “He can just shake it off.”
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