DraftKings looks forward to the first football season with legal sports betting

DraftKings is about to enter a brave new world as it gears up for the upcoming football season where legal sports betting has now been greenlit.

“Pretty exciting time,” DraftKings CEO Jason Robins said on Wednesday. “I honestly thought this would take a lot longer than it has. It happened faster.”

New Jersey paved the way with state legislation after the Supreme Court reversed a federal ban on sports betting.

“I think [New Jersey] lost seven times and they kept at it,” Robins said. “Really amazing that they just pursued this.”

DraftKings allows sports fans to compete in fantasy sports contest. The platform has over 10 million registered users globally and the application has 8.5 million downloads which most likely will surpass the 9 million mark in the fourth quarter.

Robins said football season is the most important six weeks of the year and he is starting to see online activity heating up.

“This is where we get most of our new users, where we activate most of our customers. Really, really important that we get off to a good start,” he said.

DraftKings anticipates football fans will place bets before the start of the games, rather than betting on in-game predictions.

“I think most people are going to choose to bet the games beforehand,” Robins said. “I think people who missed the start may come in and make a bet in the middle.”