The race for the top spot in the U.S. online sports betting market has tightened.
FanDuel and DraftKings have long been 1A and 1B in that business, respectively. That, however, may no longer be the case.
“If you look at our performance, we were basically tied with FanDuel for No. 1 in the industry on sports betting this quarter,” DraftKings CEO Jason Robins said during the company's earnings call last week.
- DraftKings CEO Jason Robins sees his company as essentially tied with FanDuel for the top spot in U.S. online sports betting.
- Recent financial results and market share figures suggest DraftKings has closed the gap with its longtime rival, and may have recently surpassed it.
- Both companies are spending on promotions, product innovation, and prediction markets to strengthen their competitive positions.
The numbers reported by both DraftKings and FanDuel-owner Flutter Entertainment for the third quarter do indeed suggest the gap is either narrow or gone entirely.
DraftKings reported its "sports consumer volume" for the three months that ended Sept. 30 was approximately $13.9 billion.
The company defines that volume as the total amount of settled customer wagers or trades for both its online sportsbook and prediction market platform (excluding any volume from PM market makers). Sports-related revenue for DraftKings amounted to $783.6 million for the quarter.
Flutter, meanwhile, reported approximately $12 billion in U.S. sportsbook handle and around $1 billion in U.S. sportsbook revenue for the third quarter. The company also reported that trading volume for FanDuel Predicts was $119 million.
Chart from Citizens. DraftKings was ahead of FanDuel in both online sportsbook handle share and GGR share last month in a dozen-ish states (incl. OR, where it's just DK Sportsbook). Fanatics, 365, "other" (Hard Rock, probably) gaining some share further down. https://t.co/nVOic4QtGa
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) October 27, 2026
In other words, it's real close. Some, though, see DraftKings as having pulled ahead recently.
Stock analysts at investment bank Citizens reported on Oct. 27 that DraftKings' share of online sports betting handle across 13 states and D.C. was 37.4% in September. DraftKings' share of gross gaming revenue was 35.8% for the month as well. FanDuel had 34.2% handle share and 34.9% GGR share, according to Citizens, putting it second to DraftKings.
“DraftKings has climbed to become the largest online sports betting platform in the U.S., number two in iGaming, and comps like Fanatics are telling us it will be a market share gainer driven by increasing investment spending,” the Citizens analysts said in a separate note to clients last Friday.
Neither DraftKings nor FanDuel plans to be complacent about the current hierarchy. Both are preparing to spend more, particularly on prediction markets, potentially bringing more promotions and products to customers.
Flutter CEO Dan Taylor (who has been in the job for a little over a month) said during his company's earnings call last week that his first priority is to build on its “U.S. leadership position,” and that its increased generosity for bettors this year helped drive market share gains in August and September.
FanDuel's “sportsbook improvement plan” has also included the recent rollouts of a rewards program and bet sharing for users. Moreover, the company now has a single app available that houses all of its products (as DraftKings does), which includes sports betting and sports prediction markets.
“I strongly believe we have the best assets to capture the North American opportunity, which still has a very long runway of growth ahead,” Taylor said. “But we need to operate at pace and deliver relentless product innovation, while investing with discipline where we see long-term opportunities.”
If you ain't first, you're last
Some investment will go toward ensuring FanDuel’s presence in the media. In doing so, though, Flutter is facing the prospect of increased marketing costs due to the spending spree by prediction market operators such as Kalshi and Polymarket.
Both DraftKings and FanDuel are running and competing in the state-regulated sportsbook business while also trying to make a go of it in the federally regulated exchange business.
However, in the latter industry, Kalshi and Polymarket form the duopoly. According to Aldrin Research, the pair command around 85% market share among prediction operators.
Flutter CEO Dan Taylor's letter to shareholders this morning: prediction markets aren't stealing much online sports betting business from FanDuel, but they are helping to jack up our marketing costs. https://t.co/E3BZUO4zWd
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) November 4, 2026
Robins has said DraftKings is already the third-biggest exchange operator in the U.S., and his company plans to spend even more on that venture. The marketing part of the exchange business could be particularly costly.
"DraftKings is playing from behind, with Kalshi and Polymarket controlling the prediction market industry at this point, but with the mindset that DraftKings wants to be number one, it needs to match the level of spend from Kalshi, which is rumored to have spent $2bn on marketing in 2026, and Polymarket, which is closer to $1bn," the Citizens analysts wrote.
DraftKings updated its 2026 fiscal guidance last week to forecast between $175 million and $275 million in adjusted EBITDA. However, DraftKings suggested its overall earnings will be held back by its prediction market spending, as it expects its core business to generate $875 million to $925 million in adjusted EBITDA.
“I don't think we're giving up an inch anywhere,” Robins added during the earnings call. “We are laser focused on the core.”
