DraftKings Welcomes Jackpocket into the Fold

By Jessica Whitehouse,
Editor at online-gambling.com

Jessica Whitehouse Editor at online-gambling.com

Jessica Whitehouse is a content expert and editor from Santa Monica, California. At online-gambling.com, she focuses on roulette, blackjack reviews, lottery, and casino payments. Whitehouse is also our leading go-to expert in online gambling in South Africa. In addition, she provides the photo materials for most articles on the site.

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Last updated: May 22, 2024

The daily fantasy sports and sportsbook app DraftKings recently acquired Jackpocket, another North American app which was created to facilitate lottery transactions. DraftKings announced the purchase in February 2024 and also divulged that the acquisition had a price tag of $750 million.

DraftKings also announced at the time that they estimated Jackpocket’s value would bring in an extra $340 million to their total revenue each year to start. This move represents a significant step for DraftKings as it enters into the lottery market.

Though Jackpocket is already a functional app with its own fanbase, as is DraftKings, a key part of the process going forward will be the DraftKings team finding ways to integrate Jackpocket seamlessly into what they do, and to appeal to fanbases new and old. Jackpocket indeed represents an opportunity for the DFS company to explore the popular vertical of lottery sales.

Jackpocket’s Popularity

Out of all North American lottery apps, Jackpocket received the most downloads in 2023, according to data shared by Jackpocket itself. In fact, the company says that its app was nine times more popular than that of other viable lottery apps.

This inarguable popularity is a great part of the reason that it was an appealing purchase for DraftKings. DraftKings are of course already a leader when it comes to daily fantasy sports, their bread-and-butter, as well as its growing number of sports betting partnerships across regulated territories.

Jason Robins, chief executive and DraftKings co-founder had this to say about the acquisition: “Today we are announcing the completion of our acquisition of Jackpocket and the commencement of our value creation plan. We are well-prepared to quickly launch cross-sell programmes, further improve customer acquisition efficiency and continue to innovate and differentiate with our overall product portfolio for our customers.”

Jackpocket’s popularity is down to the fact that it gives customers in the US the ability to buy official lotto tickets. This state-of-the-art offering is a game-changer for many across the country, who are now able to participate in state-run lotto draws from the comfort of home. So far, it is available in 18 US states.

A Focus on Value

Jackpocket CEO Peter Sullivan agreed that the acquisition represents an unmissable opportunity for the company. In a recent press release, he shared: “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. 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.”

The acquisition has contributed to DraftKings’ financial projections for 2024, which were already fairly high. In fact, Q1 2024 saw a 50% increase on what was earned in Q1 2023.