In what is likely the single biggest promotion in American sportsbook history, DraftKings gave away more than $10 million on Thursday night.
The sportsbook allowed all bettors to bet up to $50 on the Kansas City Chiefs, who in reality were 9.5 point favorites, as 101-point underdogs. The Chiefs beat the Houston Texans by 14, 34-20, meaning that anyone who made the bet for $50, netted $45.95.
DraftKings CEO Jason Robins told The Action Network that the cost was a worthwhile marketing expense.
“We like to start the season with something like this so that somebody who is on the fence as to who to bet with can see the value of going to us,” Robins said.
The promotion was open to new and returning customers partly because Robins said the company doesn’t want to create the impression that they are just about onboarding new bettors and don’t appreciate existing bettors.
It was a big night for the company, which is now worth $14.5 billion based on its rising stock price.
“It was way bigger than anything at the season opener last year,” Robins said. “Of our existing states, we did two times the money from last year and counting all states we were up more than 1,000 percent on handle.”
Robins said not only did new customers come to the site for betting, fantasy also saw a sizable leap.
