DraftKings reported first-quarter 2026 revenue of $1.65bn, up 17% year-on-year, supported by strong engagement across sportsbook and iGaming, alongside improved sportsbook margins.
Sportsbook revenue rose 24.1% to $1.09bn, while iGaming revenue increased 8.9% to $461.3m. Total sportsbook handle reached $14.08bn during the quarter, compared to $13.88bn in Q1 2025, with sportsbook net revenue margin improving from 6.4% to 7.8%.
The operator reported a net profit of $21.1m attributable to shareholders, which was substantially better than the net loss of $33.9m from the previous year. Adjusted EBITDA jumped to $167.9m from $102.6m in the same period. Monthly unique payers fell 4% year over year to 4.2m, primarily due to lower lottery play revenue from DraftKings exiting Texas in 2025; however, the combined monthly unique payer count from both sportsbooks and iGaming grew 2%.
For the month, average revenue per unique payer was up by 21%, reaching $131, due to improved sportsbook operations and continued engagement with digital wagering offerings.
DraftKings reiterated its full-year 2026 guidance for revenue to be between $6.5bn and $6.9bn and consolidated adjusted EBITDA of between $700m and $900m.
DraftKings continues to provide mobile sports betting to 27 US states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico, with approximately 53% of the US population covered. iGaming is currently available in five US states while DraftKings continues to provide sportsbooks and other offerings in Ontario.
Jason Robins, DraftKings’ Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder, said:
We are off to a fantastic start to the year as our first quarter results exceeded our expectations. Our core business is strong, and profitability is inflecting. That gives us the firepower to press our advantage in Predictions. With our Super App, market-making capabilities, proprietary exchange, and combos coming together, we intend to establish a leadership position in Sports Predictions before year-end.
As of 31 Mar 2026, DraftKings has approximately $999.4m of cash or cash equivalents and total assets of $4.31bn on its balance sheet, which consists of $1.26bn of convertible debt and a term loan of $575.6m.
Alan Ellingson, DraftKings’ Chief Financial Officer, said:
The business continues to scale efficiently as we grow revenue, expand profitability, and invest in high-return opportunities. We continue to expect fiscal year 2026 revenue of $6.5 billion to $6.9 billion and Adjusted EBITDA of $700 million to $900 million.
The results underline the ongoing expansion of North America’s regulated online wagering industry and show that operators continue to focus on retaining customers, optimizing their margins through sports wagering, and expanding their operations into regulated markets.
