DraftKings
DraftKings Reaches Agreement to Acquire Jackpocket for $750 Million
DraftKings Inc. announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Jackpocket, the leading lottery app* in the United States, for total consideration of approximately $750 million, with approximately 55 percent of the consideration payable in cash funded from the Company’s balance sheet with no capital raise required and approximately 45 percent of the consideration payable in the Company’s Class A common stock, subject to customary purchase price adjustments and the collar mechanism described below (the “Proposed Transaction”).
Jackpocket is the leading provider of digital lottery services in the U.S. with proprietary and highly-scalable technology, a strong brand, and an outstanding founder-led management team. The Proposed Transaction will enable DraftKings to access and grow into the massive U.S. lottery industry, but more importantly strengthen its position in Sportsbook and iGaming through higher customer lifetime value – based on demonstrated cross-sell capabilities – and an enhanced customer acquisition engine.
“We are very excited to enter the rapidly growing U.S. digital lottery vertical with our acquisition of Jackpocket,” said Jason Robins, Co-founder and CEO of DraftKings. “This transaction will create significant value for DraftKings not only by giving our customers another differentiated product to enjoy but also by improving our overall marketing efficiency similar to how our daily fantasy sports database created an advantage for DraftKings in OSB and iGaming.”
“Together with DraftKings, we will be able to bring tremendous value to our customer base as we advance our mission to create a more convenient, fun, and responsible way to take part in the lottery,” said Peter Sullivan, CEO of Jackpocket. “DraftKings’ broad footprint and exceptional mobile products present an opportunity to meaningfully expand the digital lottery vertical, and we could not be more excited to come together with DraftKings.”
Jackpocket founder Peter Sullivan is stepping back from his day-to-day role as senior vice president of lottery at DraftKings following the company’s acquisition by the operator.
Sullivan, the co-founder of the lottery game and ticket supplier, set the company up in 2013 and ultimately led it toward a $750m takeover by DraftKings in 2024.
DraftKings completed its acquisition of Jackpocket in 2024 and has made note of its continued influence on its earnings since then.
After spending two years integrating Jackpocket’s operations into DraftKings, Sullivan, who is moving into an advisory role, said he wants to spend more time with his family and explore new opportunities.
“After 13 incredible years building Jackpocket and helping bring it together with DraftKings, I’ve decided that the time has come for me to step away from my day-to-day operating role,” he said.
“What started in 2013 as an idea to modernise how people participate in the lottery became a journey beyond anything I could have imagined.
“Along the way, we built an amazing team, navigated countless challenges, expanded across the country, helped create millions of lottery winners, and ultimately joined forces with DraftKings to accelerate our vision on an even larger scale.
“I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished and deeply grateful to the employees, partners, investors, regulators, retailers and customers who believed in us along the way. Most importantly, I’m thankful for the teammates who dedicated years of their lives to building something special together.”
Advisory role for Sullivan
“As I transition into an advisory capacity, I’m excited to watch the next chapter unfold. I remain extremely bullish on the future of Lottery at DraftKings and the opportunity for its continued growth,” Sullivan added.
“Personally, I’m looking forward to spending more time with my family, pursuing new ventures and exploring other opportunities. While I’m excited for what’s ahead, I’ll always be proud of what we built and the impact we’ve made.”
The post Jackpocket Founder Peter Sullivan Steps Back After DraftKings integration appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
FIRST.bet has announced the appointment of Ian Bradley as its co-CEO. Bradley – most recently SVP at DraftKings, and a former colleague of Tom from SBTech – joins as a partner in the business alongside founder Tom Light, the two leading FIRST.bet together as the company enters its next phase of growth across LATAM, Europe and beyond.
Ian Bradley brings more than 20 years of sportsbook and trading heritage, beginning in spread betting and trading at Sporting Index and Sporting Solutions before joining SBTech – the sportsbook business whose technology became part of DraftKings through their 2020 merger. As SVP at DraftKings, he was a central figure in the company’s sportsbook success in the years that followed, with responsibility for all of its consumer sportsbook revenue.
FIRST.bet was itself founded by former SBTech leaders, making Ian Bradley’s appointment a return to the sportsbook roots where he built his career.
Bradley joins not simply as a senior executive but as a partner in the business alongside Tom Light, the two sharing ownership of FIRST.bet’s strategy and direction as co-CEOs. Having first worked together at SBTech, they combine Tom’s vision and product leadership as founder with Ian’s track record in scaling sportsbook businesses, jointly driving growth across product, technology and trading as the company expands across its core markets.
“Ian is one of the most respected leaders in our industry, and I worked alongside him at SBTech, so I’ve seen first-hand what he builds. I’ve wanted him alongside me at FIRST.bet for some time – that he’s only now free to join tells you how highly DraftKings valued him. Asking Ian to run the business with me as co-CEO is the clearest statement of intent we could make: FIRST.bet is building the platform serious operators choose, and together we’ll get there faster,” said Tom Light, Founder and co-CEO of FIRST.bet
“FIRST.bet has built something rare – a world-class team and genuinely Tier-1 technology, with the trading depth and product to back it. I wanted to work alongside a team like this and help build on the success they’ve already created. Running the company alongside Tom as co-CEO is exactly the challenge I wanted next, and the opportunity in B2B right now – across LATAM, Europe and beyond – is enormous,” said Ian Bradley, Co-CEO of FIRST.bet.
The post FIRST.bet Appoints Former DraftKings SVP Ian Bradley as Co-CEO appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
DraftKings has renewed a multi-year agreement with GeoComply to continue providing real-time geolocation and compliance services, the companies said.
The extension comes after DraftKings’ Super App launch, a unified platform approach that lets customers access either sportsbook or sports predictions depending on their location. The press release positions the renewal as supporting scale, fraud controls, geolocation and compliance requirements tied to that rollout.
GeoComply said its geolocation signals are embedded into DraftKings’ internal risk workflows, including step-up authentication and automated decisioning. The vendor said it processes 2.5 billion checks a month across its platform.
Under the extended agreement, the companies said GeoComply will continue to support DraftKings with dedicated forward-deployed engineering support.
“The operators winning this next cycle are treating geolocation intelligence as critical trust infrastructure,” said Kip Levin, CEO of GeoComply. “DraftKings has done that for years. This extension reflects how seriously they take the architecture behind player trust—and it’s what lets them keep moving fast on everything else.”
The post DraftKings renews multi-year geolocation deal with GeoComply appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
-
Africa7 days agoBooming Games renews Hollywoodbets Durban July activation partnership
-
Africa7 days ago
SpringbokCasino ties July free spins to ‘Minions in the Wild’ campaign
-
Evoplay7 days ago
Evoplay launches Safari Coins slot with fixed jackpots and collector mechanic
-
Baltics7 days ago
From Ronaldinho Roulette to Next-Generation Game Shows: How CreedRoomz is Expanding Live Casino Entertainment
-
game launches7 days ago
Habanero launches Happy Hatchlings slot with screen-wide Wild transforms
-
Arizona Department of Gaming6 days agoArizona Department of Gaming Concludes Legislative Session with Approved Agency Continuation and Enhanced Spending Authority for Problem Gambling
-
Amusnet6 days ago
Connecting Business and Diplomacy: Amusnet Supports BBLF’s Annual Meeting of the Diplomatic Corps
-
Andreas Ottenschläger7 days ago
Austria: Draft bill entered parliamentary consultation
