DraftKings inaugurates San Francisco office and dreams with Las Vegas expansion

This week, DraftKings Inc. has inaugurated an office in San Francisco and says it plans to open another location in Las Vegas soon, continuing a flurry of activity from the Boston-based startup since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal ban on sports betting in May.

The new San Francisco office will have five to 10 employees in the near future, according to DraftKings CEO Jason Robins, and will mostly house a team focused on growth marketing. The company did not share a timeline for the opening of the Las Vegas office.

"Presence in these international hubs of technology and gaming, respectively, allows us access to a tremendous talent pool and strengthens our position as leaders in this dynamic industry,” DraftKings’ co-founder and chief revenue officer Matt Kalish said in a prepared statement.

DraftKings currently employs more than 500 people in Boston, and says it plans to increase that number by 75 percent — meaning it could hire more than 350 people — over the next 18 months. Meanwhile, the company will more than double the size of its headquarters with a move to Back Bay in early 2019.

DraftKings also announced a number of hires related to its new gambling business. The business was launched earlier this month in New Jersey, where residents can now make bets via the DraftKings app thanks to the company's licensing partnership with Atlantic City-based Resorts Casino Hotel.

The new hires include Jamie Shea as head of digital sportsbook operations and Frank Kunovic as director of retail sportsbook operations. Shea has spent a decade running sports and racing-related gambling operations in Las Vegas, and Kunovic previously worked at Caesars Entertainment, the casino owner. Sean Hurley, formerly an executive with London-based betting technology company Amelco, is now DraftKings' head of commercial growth.

Last week, DraftKings also named a new chief product officer, Andy Yang, and chief marketing officer, Tom Goedde, both of whom will be based out of the Boston office. Yang was previously CEO of Upsight, a digital marketing technology startup, while Goedde has overseen marketing for a number of video game titles, including EA Sports' Madden NFL.

Goedde will take over the CMO role from Janet Holian, who has been with DraftKings since 2015. DraftKings says Holian will remain with the company through the 2018 NFL season, overseeing the growth marketing team during that time.