U.S. gaming operator DraftKings enjoyed a 15% increase in year-over-year handle from an influx of World Cup business and expansion of its prediction-market product during the second quarter of 2026.
However, the customers made sure the operator failed to turn that additional volume into major profits.
Key Takeaways
- DraftKings’ $1.44-billion revenue from Q2 was down 5% year over year.
- Volumes from the sportsbook and prediction-market platforms reached $13.1 billion.
- DraftKings CEO says handle, users, and engagement grew during the quarter that included the World Cup.
The Boston-based online sports betting, prediction market, and iGaming company reported Q2 revenue of $1.44 billion on Thursday, falling short of industry projections of more than $1.5 billion during the period ending June 30. Revenue was also down 5% compared to the second quarter of 2025, though this year's quarter was highlighted by the U.S. men’s national team winning two heavily bet World Cup games.
“The decrease in the company's second quarter 2026 revenue was driven primarily by customer-friendly sport outcomes and increased promotional reinvestment associated with new customer acquisition on our sportsbook and predictions offerings,” DraftKings said in the release.
Combined volumes reached $13.1 billion, nearly $2 billion more than the same quarter last year and driven by the popularity of the North American soccer event, but customers lowered the operator’s win rate from 8.7% in Q2 2025 to 6.7% in the latest period.
Enjoying Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account
Ups and downs
DraftKings CEO Jason Robins came out of the second quarter pleased with the direction of business. The operator reported that monthly unique players grew by 9% during Q2 from the previous year to 3.6 million, reflecting customer retention and acquisition on both the sportsbook platform and prediction market product, which launched in December 2025.
“We delivered a strong second quarter and enter the back half of the year with real momentum, as our core business grew across handle, users, and engagement,” Robins said. “Our Super App is now live nationwide, and Predictions is already growing faster than we anticipated. The similarity of Predictions customer metrics to Sportsbook customer metrics, our advantaged LTV position, and our playbook to innovate on a leading Predictions offering all underpin our confidence that we can win the category this NFL season and beyond.”
DraftKings won back $891.9 million on sports in Q2, while iGaming generated $461.9 million in revenue, a 7.5% year-over-year increase. The online operator also experienced a 13% year-over-year decrease in average revenue per MUP from sports.
DraftKings’ sports betting product represents 53% of the U.S. population, operating in 27 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The online operator has iGaming in five states and recently launched both products in the Canadian province of Alberta. DraftKings Predictions is available in 38 states.
Staying the course
Those increased costs of revenue and sales and marketing associated with the World Cup customer acquisition left DraftKings with a net income loss of $67.6 million in Q2, which paled in comparison to the $157.9 million in net income profit from the previous year’s second quarter.
Adjusted EBITDA of $114.6 million was down 61.9% from $300.6 million from the previous year’s Q2. Those dips, however, aren’t derailing DraftKings’ guidance.
Total revenue over the first six months of 2026 is up 5.8% compared to the first two quarters of 2025. Volume increased 7.8%, with the sports hold nearly equaling H1 2025’s 7.4%.
“Our core business remains on track to generate approximately $1 billion of Adjusted EBITDA this year, providing us with financial flexibility to invest behind the significant opportunity that we are seeing in Predictions,” said Alan Ellingson, DraftKings’ Chief Financial Officer. “Therefore, we are maintaining our fiscal year 2026 guidance for revenue of $6.5 billion to $6.9 billion and Adjusted EBITDA of $700 million to $900 million.”
