Despite sports betting outcomes going against the gaming operator, DraftKings grew year-over-year revenue by 20% during 2025's first quarter.
Key takeaways
- Bettors’ success from favorites advancing deep into the NCAA tournament impacted DraftKings’ revenue and guidance.
- Adjusted EBITDA during Q1 rose 358% from the same period in 2024.
- DraftKings still plans to launch in Missouri this fall.
The company reported $1.41 billion in Q1 revenue Thursday, a $234 million increase from the same period in 2024, through “continued healthy customer engagement, efficient acquisition of new customers, higher structural sportsbook hold percentage, and the impact of the acquisition of Jackpocket Inc.,” DraftKings said.
“Recent product enhancements are driving outperformance in our core value drivers, and our customer metrics continue to be strong through an evolving macroeconomic environment,” DraftKings CEO and co-founder Jason Robins said in a statement. “If not for customer-friendly sport outcomes in March, we would be raising our fiscal year 2025 revenue and Adjusted EBITDA guidance.”
Lack of upsets
College basketball was the reason for that. March Madness, which traditionally leads to strong underdog performances and upsets early in the NCAA tournament, was replaced with a high number of favorites winning outright. All four No. 1 seeds on the men’s side advanced to the Final Four, affecting operators across the industry.
Still, DraftKings recorded a $102.6 million Adjusted EBITDA in the period ending March 31, up from $22.4 million in Q1 2024.
“We have a healthy balance sheet and repurchased 3.7 million shares in the first quarter under our existing stock repurchase program,” DraftKings Chief Financial Officer Alan Ellingson said.
Gaming growth
The sportsbook side reported a $13.88 billion quarterly handle, a 15.7% year-over-year increase. Behind a 6.4% net revenue margin, sports betting produced $888.9 million in Q1 profit, up 20% from the previous year’s first quarter.
iGaming contributed another $423.5 million in revenue, while another $103.4 million came from other resources.
Monthly Unique Payers (MUP) grew 28% year-over-year to 4.3 million to kick off 2025, primarily from the Jackpocket impact. Minus the digital lottery app’s effect on gaining customers, DraftKings’ sportsbook and online casino still grew MUPs by 11%.
Average Revenue per MUP decreased 5% to $108 in Q1, a result of Jackpocket customers spending less. iGaming average income grew by 7%.
Adjusting guidance
The customer-friendly March led to a readjustment at DraftKings. The company lowered its guidance to $6.3 billion from $6.6 billion, announced after Q4 2024, and to $6.2 billion from $6.4 billion for the 2025 fiscal year. Adjusted EBITDA decreased by $100 million to $800 million from a $900 million previously projected range.
The latest guidance only takes into account the 25 current U.S. states where DK operates sports betting and five iGaming states, as well as Ontario, Canada. DraftKings said it still expects to launch its sportsbook in Missouri when sports betting goes live in October or November, along with rival FanDuel, which could later alter the company’s fiscal-year results.
