Ohio: DraftKings to offer $200 in free bets as pre-launch sign-up bonus

DraftKings will offer $200 in free bets to Ohio-based customers who sign up before sports betting goes live in the state on 1 January 2023. 

draftkings ohio background
Listen To Article

The promotion does not even require a player to make an initial deposit, and five early sign-up customers will be selected at random to receive a $100,000 free bet on launch day.  

The move would follow DraftKings’ trend of spending large amounts on customer acquisition, a policy that has had a detrimental effect on the operator’s ability to turn a profit.  

DraftKings reported a net loss of $217.1m for Q2 2022 and $305.5m for Q1 2022 – a combined H1 2022 loss of $684.8m, greater than the $651.9m loss in H1 2021.

Losses have continued to spiral as new markets go live in the US, states where DraftKings enters with a high-risk acquisition model.  

Compared to its competitors, DraftKings’ net loss is staggering. Over the same period (H2 2022), Flutter Entertainment, the parent company of DraftKings' main rival FanDuel, recorded a net loss of £113m ($128.8m).

And compared to respectively smaller operators, which typically keep losses below the $100m mark, DraftKings’ expenditure looks even more excessive. Rush Street Interactive reported a loss of $80.6m in H1 2022.  

It has long been touted that a time must come when DraftKings investors stop investing heavily if they are to see any long-term gain, let alone gain in the mid-term.  

Recently, it was reported that DraftKings is close to agreeing to a new partnership with ESPN. Although unconfirmed by DraftKings and ESPN, the news saw shares in DraftKings jump as high as 9% in premarket trading. 

ESPN, which is owned by Walt Disney Co, also has stakes in DraftKings having acquired them upon the acquisition of Twenty-First Century Fox’s entertainment assets in March 2019.

Premium+ Connections
Premium
 
Premium
 
Premium
 
Premium
 
Premium
 
 
Premium
 
Premium
 
Premium
 
 
Premium
 
Premium Connections
Consultancy
Executive Profiles
Crown Melbourne
Resorts World Las Vegas
Crown Melbourne
Global Gaming Women
Svenska Spel
Follow Us

Facing facts: Nevada vs Macau

How is the Nevada gaming market faring against Macau? Gambli...

Taking stock: Kicking off 2025

Gambling Insider tracks online casino operator and supplier...

Responsible gambling: Who is morally, practically and legally responsible?

Within the ethical complexities of gambling, how much onus f...

Account limits: Legality and fairness in the UK

Paul Sculpher, Director of GRS Recruitment and regular Gambl...

Analysing sports betting data from the Australian Open

Sports betting supplier Betby provides Gambling Insider with...

Company profile: Digitain

Discover Digitain: BUILT TO LEAD iGaming Solutions....

Company profile: DS Virtual Gaming

For two decades, DS Virtual Gaming has been at the forefront...

Exploring X Games' move to sports betting

Gambling Insider’s Megan Elswyth speaks to X Games CEO Jer...