DraftKings revenue hits $417m in Q1, 2022, marks 34% increase

DraftKings, the leading American daily fantasy sports contest and sports betting operator, released its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2022. The company said on Friday that its Q1, 2022 revenue hit $417 million. This result marked a strong increase of 34% when compared to the $312 million in revenue from the same period during Q1, 2021.

In Q1, 2022, DraftKings' business-to-customer segment hit $404 million. This marked a significant 44% increase when compared to the result from the first quarter of the prior year. The company explained that adjusted EBITDA: "outperformed the midpoint of the guidance for the first quarter of 2022 previously provided by DraftKings during its fourth quarter earnings conference call on February 18, 2022, by more than 12%."

Without any doubt, the strong financial outcome of Q1, 2022 is the result of the expansion of DraftKings iGaming and mobile sports betting operations around the US. Only recently the operator launched its services successfully for customers in Louisiana. DraftKings also entered the mobile betting market in New York, which proved to be an immense success since its launch early in January.

Additionally, the leading sportsbook secured market access agreements to enter Maryland, Ohio and Puerto Rico. Kansas is another state where DraftKings plans to set foot, after lawmakers in the state passed legislation approving retail and mobile sports betting.

Overall, the company offers its mobile sports betting services in 17 US states. Those states represent approximately 36% of the population of the country. On the other hand, DraftKings' iGaming operationsare live in five US states that represent approximately 11% of the population in the US.

Once the company completes its launch in Ohio, Puerto Rico and Maryland, it will cater to another 7% of the US population. The company's coverage will be further boosted upon the launch of its services in Kansas, which represents approximately 1% of the US population. Ultimately, with each new launch, DraftKings is getting closer to catering to approximately 50% of the US population.

During the first quarter this year, the company's monthly unique players (MUPs) hit 2 million, marking an increase of 29% when compared to Q1, 2021. The result complements the successful launch into new states, as well as DraftKings' efforts to acquire and retain new players for its iGaming and online sportsbook platforms.

What's more, the company said that in Q1, 2022, its average revenue per MUP hit $67. This result represented an 11% increase when compared to the same period the prior year.

In a press release dated May 6, 2022, DraftKings' CFO, Jason Park, revealed that the company is pleased with the financial results in the first quarter. He explained that adjusted EBITDA and the strong revenue were "driven by healthy underlying customer behavior and our ability to capture efficiencies."

In conclusion, Park said: "Therefore, we are increasing the midpoint of our fiscal year 2022 revenue guidance by $50 million and improving the midpoint of our fiscal year 2022 Adjusted EBITDA guidance by $75 million."

Jason Robins, DraftKings' CEO, co-founder and chairman of the board, added that the company continues to add "breadth and depth" to its sports betting, iGaming and DFS products. He explained that as a result of this, DraftKings enjoys an improved user experience.

"We are also improving our efficiency in acquiring and retaining customers and have a strong pipeline of new jurisdictions to enter," said Robins in conclusion.

Image credit: GlobeNewswire