Could it be that decades from now, people will log into their online sportsbooks and wager on artificial intelligence-generated games and players, rather than real flesh-and-blood competition and competitors?
Well, maybe. However, a lot can change in 30 years, DraftKings CEO Jason Robins noted Wednesday at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas.
Speaking on stage with journalist Rachel Nichols (who has done media work for the DraftKings Network), Robins broke out his crystal ball a few times to try to predict the near and distant futures of his company, legal sports betting, and iGaming.
Asked about how DraftKings prioritizes what it's presenting to customers during busy times on the sports calendar (such as right now), Robins said they target what the fans are focusing on and try to feature those markets.
Back at G2E this morning for more keynotes. Today we have DraftKings CEO Jason Robins and Circa CEO Derek Stevens, so may get some very different perspectives. Will tweet the highlights here: pic.twitter.com/QYAN7ftUuW
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) October 9, 2024
The Boston-based bookmaker can also draw on the historical activity of those users to figure out what to get in front of them. Even so, Robins suggested that having a good way to navigate your sportsbook is a necessity, and he then made a prediction about how that navigation could evolve.
“When you have a lot of content, you have to be able to find it,” the DraftKings CEO said. “I think eventually we’re going to evolve to a point where it’s almost like a ChatGPT-type interactive experience, where people are going to be able to come in and more interact with the interface and figure out things that maybe they’re discovering that they didn’t know about.”
Asked later about what DraftKings’ business and the gaming industry will look like 30 years from now, Robins said it’s so far out it’s hard to imagine. He noted later that 30 years ago, the internet was still in its infancy and no one could conceive of the smartphone.
LeBot James?
Again, though, the DraftKings CEO took a stab at envisioning the legal sports betting business in 2054.
“I think that a lot of it is going to be based on where technology ultimately evolves,” Robins said. “Obviously, AI is a big thing. I wouldn’t be surprised if sports get created with cyber-athletes and there’s betting and gaming on that.”
Robins added later, presumably joking, that people may someday be betting on events on another planet.
The DraftKings boss also predicted the ability to “do more at once” could grow as well, recalling his experience watching online poker players participating in games at multiple tables simultaneously.
“I think devices and experiences that allow you to do many, many things at the same time will proliferate,” Robins said.
Keeping up with tech trends
But it all comes back to where technology takes the business. DraftKings, Robins said, is trying to stay on top of that technological evolution, as it won’t be the gaming industry that creates the new tech trends, but it will certainly need to try to benefit from those changes.
“Whoever gets out ahead of it, I think, has the advantage,” Robins said.
Another prediction by the DraftKings CEO is that the connection between "offline and online" will become more important.
DraftKings has the online side of that connection more or less covered, but Robins said the company is also building ties with partners on the brick-and-mortar side of the gaming industry.
"It's going to be the next thing across all the states, I think, is this true omni-channel experience," Robins said.
The comments suggest that major online sports betting operators are at least pondering what the distant future may hold for their businesses, even as they are fighting for that business in the here and now.
DraftKings and FanDuel are the clear leaders in online sports betting in the U.S., but DraftKings is still second in that hierarchy and is eyeing ways to pull closer.
DK has been good focusing on NFL and perhaps not focused enough on carrying that success over into NBA, Robins suggests.
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) September 5, 2024
One area of improvement that Robins has highlighted before is carrying the momentum of NFL wagering into the NBA season, and he said Wednesday the company’s plans for the nearer future include a bigger emphasis on NBA player props. The NBA, Robins said, is the most "player-centric" of all the professional leagues.
(NBA commissioner Adam Silver's concerns about certain betting markets in the wake of the Jontay Porter scandal were not mentioned during Robins' keynote.)
Part of DraftKings' push will include a promotion during the early part of the NBA season that will automatically enter prop bettors into a million-dollar prize pool.
The customer can then win some (or perhaps all) of that pool if the player they backed has the most points, assists, and rebounds combined on any given day.
“We’re really going to make sure that we have the best player props in the industry, really make DraftKings the best place to bet player props throughout the NBA season,” Robins said.
