DraftKings reported higher third-quarter revenue on November 5 but sharply lowered its profit forecast for 2026, saying it will spend $650 million to $700 million this year building Predictions, its prediction markets product. The company also trimmed its revenue outlook and published its first guidance for 2027.
The quarter in numbers
Revenue for the three months to September 30 rose 16% to $1,329 million, from $1,144 million a year earlier, according to the results filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The net loss widened to $468.7 million from $256.8 million, and adjusted EBITDA, the profit measure DraftKings uses, was a loss of $316.9 million against a loss of $126.5 million in the same quarter of 2025.
Sports revenue, which now includes Predictions, grew about 32% to $783.6 million. Customers wagered $13.9 billion, up 22%, and DraftKings kept 5.6% of that as net revenue, up from 5.2%. Online casino revenue rose just 2% to $460.9 million. Monthly unique payers averaged 4.1 million, up about 13%. Yogonet reported that sales and marketing costs rose 68% to $605.7 million.
Guidance cut
In August, DraftKings had held its 2026 forecasts at $6.5 billion to $6.9 billion in revenue and $700 million to $900 million in adjusted EBITDA. It now expects revenue of $6.35 billion to $6.55 billion and adjusted EBITDA of just $175 million to $275 million.
Excluding Predictions, the company expects its sportsbook and casino business to earn $875 million to $925 million, held back by extra spending on online casino and what it called modestly customer-friendly sports results. It said Predictions will report almost no revenue this year because sign-up promotions cancel out most of the gross revenue it generates, and it plans to put another $175 million to $225 million into it in the fourth quarter.
For 2027, DraftKings forecasts revenue of $7.35 billion to $7.75 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $800 million to $1.0 billion. That includes $650 million to $750 million of Predictions revenue and $250 million to $350 million of further investment in it. Chief executive Jason Robins said more than 1.6 million customers had engaged with Predictions so far this year.
Context
DraftKings Predictions offers event contracts, including on sports, through a subsidiary overseen by the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission rather than state gaming regulators. That is why prediction markets can reach players in states where sportsbooks are not licensed, and why states and leagues are fighting them in court. Our story on the CFTC’s November 5 guidance on geofencing covers the latest federal move. Rival Flutter, owner of FanDuel, also expects heavy losses on its own product, as our report on Flutter’s third quarter explains.
DraftKings’ sportsbook is live in 27 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, and its online casino in five states.
What it means for players
The DraftKings Sportsbook and casino you use in a licensed state are not changing because of these results. What is changing is where the company’s marketing money goes: more of it is being spent on drawing customers to Predictions.
The two products are regulated differently. A state-licensed sportsbook must follow your state’s rules on age checks, responsible gambling tools and complaints. A prediction market contract falls under federal commodities rules, and the protections can differ. Before you sign up for either, check what is legal where you live on our US sports betting legal map, and see our DraftKings review for how the sportsbook works. Our responsible gambling page covers deposit limits and time-outs.
Sources
- DraftKings Inc. Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1: third quarter 2026 results (US Securities and Exchange Commission (DraftKings))
- DraftKings Inc. Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1: second quarter 2026 results (US Securities and Exchange Commission (DraftKings))
- DraftKings cuts 2026 earnings forecast by up to $625 million as quarterly losses nearly double (Yogonet)
Written in our own words from the sources above. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will correct it and log it on our corrections page.
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