DraftKings recorded a net loss of $67.6m during the second quarter of 2026, as customer-friendly sports results and elevated promotional spending weighed heavily on the bottom line.
Revenue for the three months ending June came in at $1.44bn, representing a 5% year-on-year decline from the same period in 2025.
Adjusted EBITDA more than halved during the quarter, falling from $300.6m to $114.6m, compounding concerns around the operator’s near-term profitability.
The weaker financial results arrived despite DraftKings continuing to expand its customer base, with World Cup activity driving meaningful increases in engagement and handle.
Monthly unique payers grew 9% year-on-year to 4.4 million, while sportsbook handle climbed 15%, signalling strong underlying demand from bettors across the platform.
Average revenue per monthly unique payer slipped 13% to $132, however, hurt by unfavourable sporting outcomes and a rise in promotional expenditure during the quarter.
Co-founder and CEO Jason Robins struck a confident tone when assessing the results, pointing to the nationwide US launch of the company’s Super App as a key driver of future growth.
“We delivered a strong Q2 and enter the back half of the year with real momentum, as our core business grew across handle, users, and engagement,” Robins said.
He added: “Our Super App is now live nationwide, and Predictions is already growing faster than we anticipated.”
Robins also highlighted the strategic opportunity ahead, saying: “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’ sportsbook segment remained its largest revenue contributor despite a 10.6% year-on-year decline to $891.9m, even as customer spending in that segment rose 14.5% to $13.1bn.
iGaming revenue moved in a more positive direction, rising 7.5% to $461.9m and accounting for 32% of total revenue generated during the quarter.
By the end of Q2, the operator’s mobile sportsbook was live in 27 US states plus Washington DC and Puerto Rico, reaching approximately 53% of the American population.
Its iGaming product remained available across five states, covering around 11% of the population, with both products also going live in Alberta, Canada after the quarter closed.
Operating expenses rose across the board during the period, with sales and marketing recording the sharpest increase, contributing to an operating loss of $68.2m against a $150.6m profit in the same period of 2025.
Looking at the first half of 2026 as a whole, revenue grew 5.8% to $3.09bn, but increased costs pushed the operating result into a $62.3m loss for the six-month period.
Net loss for H1 totalled $46.5m, a sharp reversal from the $124.1m net profit posted during the first half of 2025, while adjusted EBITDA dropped 30% to $282.5m.
Despite the difficult set of results, DraftKings chose to maintain its full-year guidance, keeping revenue expectations in the $6.5bn to $6.9bn range and adjusted EBITDA between $700m and $900m.
Chief financial officer Alan Ellingson stated: “Our core business remains on track to generate approximately $1bn of adjusted EBITDA this year, providing us with financial flexibility to invest behind the significant opportunity that we are seeing in predictions.”
Analysts at Regulus Partners noted that the results underlined how closely matched DraftKings and FanDuel remain, with DraftKings marginally outperforming in sports betting handle while FanDuel retained its iGaming edge.
Regulus questioned where meaningful US growth would come from as sportsbook expansion slows, describing prediction markets as a “short-term distraction” and suggesting longer-term focus may shift to international opportunities.
