Jason Robins

Jason Robins is an iGaming and digital sports betting executive who co-founded fantasy sports and sports betting company DraftKings, serving as its CEO. His career helped kick-start the U.S. digital sports betting industry.

Career

Chief Eexecutive Officer & Co-Founder

DraftKings, Inc.

2012 - present

Marketing & Analytics

Vistaprint

2008 - 2012

Marketing & Analysis

Capital One

2003 - 2008

Education

Duke University

Bachelor of Science, Economics, Computer Science, Mathematics

1999 - 2003

Major Achievements

Jason Robins launched DraftKings alongside Matt Kalish and Paul Liberman in 2012. By 2014, the company had one million registered players and more than 50,000 daily active users.

DraftKings entered the online sports betting market in 2018, the year that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) was repealed.

Awards & Recognition

Unsurprisingly, Jason Robins has received quite a bit of recognition for his work in taking DraftKings from the kitchen table to a major player in US sports betting. Here are some of the highlights:

• In 2021, DraftKings was runner-up for the Digital Operator of the Year at the Global Gaming Awards.
• At the Global Gaming Awards Las Vegas 2023, Robins finished runner-up in the American Executive of the Year category.
• American Gambling Awards C-Suite Executive of the Year in 2025 
• Included in Fortune magazine’s list of the most influential people in business under the age of 40.

These nominations recognised, among other factors, DraftKings’ strong performance in 2023, which saw it catch up to FanDuel in some regions. It later reported $790 million in Q3 revenue while edging closer to profitability.

Career Highlights

Before co-founding DraftKings, Jason Robins launched his career as a team member at Setem Technologies, a tech company specialising in voice recognition software.

In 2003, Jason began working for Capital One in its Marketing and Analysis department. In 2008, he moved to the e-commerce company Vistaprint, where he worked in Marketing and Analytics.

In 2012, inspired by his love of sports and statistics, Jason launched DraftKings alongside Matt Kalish and Paul Liberman.

In March 2023, following commentary on DraftKings’ continued high revenue but also its continually high losses, Jason took to Twitter to defend his company’s outlook and performance.

Jason built DraftKings from the ground up alongside Matt Kalish and Paul Liberman. He says the company grew faster than he imagined. When DraftKings launched in 2012, Jason was living in one of his co-founders’ spare bedrooms. 

Starting with just the three founders, DraftKings grew into an international organisation with more than 2,000 employees worldwide.

One year after launching DraftKings as a fantasy sports league, Major League Baseball invested in the business – the first time a professional sport invested in a fantasy league. That year, the company awarded $50 million in prizes.

By 2014, the company had one million registered players and more than 50,000 daily active users. DraftKings then acquired rival fantasy leagues DraftStreet and StarStreet.

DraftKings began its foray into online sports betting in 2018, the same year the U.S. struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA), which allowed states to choose to legalize sports betting. 

The company opened its first sportsbook in New Jersey, and now operates sportsbooks in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming, and counting…

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, DraftKings went public in April 2020 with an estimated market capitalization of $3.3 billion. The company grew its market capitalization to $12 billion by August of the same year. The operator also launched its first online casino in 2022, featuring slots, blackjack, and roulette.

The brand continues to expand, acquiring Golden Nugget Online Gaming in May 2022.

Frequently Asked Questions