The CEOs of Flutter Entertainment, DraftKings and MGM Resorts International have all issued fresh insights into prediction markets, as the vertical continues to grab industry headlines.
Flutter boss Peter Jackson, DraftKings chief Jason Robins and MGM’s Bill Hornbuckle were all grilled on the topic in Las Vegas at G2E.
The trio were interviewed in a series of fireside conversations with Macro Talk founder Hope King as G2E’s second day got underway.
Hours ahead of the CEOs taking to the stage, Polymarket announced it had secured a $2bn strategic investment from the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, ICE. News of the deal triggered a sharp sell-off in Flutter and DraftKings stock, which were down 3.7% and 5.8% respectively by the end of Tuesday.
Polymarket is set to return to the US after a three-year hiatus and CEO Shayne Coplan said the ICE deal was a “major step in bringing prediction markets into the financial mainstream”.
And with Kalshi’s same game parlay rollout last week, as well as surging volumes across prediction markets, the hot topic could not be avoided.
Here, EGR details the key comments from Jackson, Robins and Hornbuckle as the thorny issue of predictions markets dominates the conversation on the conference floor.
Peter Jackson, Flutter Entertainment CEO
Set to enter space with CME Group, however there will be no sports event contracts at launch
“We obviously are reasonably familiar with this space. We operate the Betfair Exchange in many markets around the world which has a lot of very similar characteristics. We were obviously very thoughtful about what we’re seeing in terms of where the regulations are going. We’re very excited about the opportunities we’ve got in front of us through a range of products that we can bring to the market here in the US, leveraging our expertise and the capabilities of CME as well.
“There’s a lot of news in this space. I’m pretty sanguine about it, actually. When I look at all the outcomes that are possible, I think we’re very well placed, irrespective of which path we end up following. That’s because of the capabilities we have –relationships, partnerships – and the brand and distribution we have here in the US. I’m excited about it and I can see why people want to get into it.
“We should say that actually building same game parlay products is not easy. There are lots of my competitors in this room, they’re spending hundreds of millions of dollars trying to catch up with us, and we’re powering ahead. I think it’s very difficult to deploy [same game parlays] through a prediction market. We’ll get some clarity around where the regulators stand on this stuff, but it looks very suspiciously like sports betting.”
Jason Robins, DraftKings CEO
Linked with an acquisition of CFTC-licensed Railbird, which has not materialised
“I’m not trying to be dismissive at all, but I don’t really see [market share being taken]. I think the products will certainly improve, but it’s complicated. It’s not the same as going to a sportsbook. You have liquidity pools and market makers.
“You have to look no further than the UK to see that. Betfair is a single-digit percentage of [Flutter’s] sportsbook revenue. So that gives you a sense of how the products coexist. I just don’t see a world where people are going to prefer that, unless you’re somebody who’s maybe been limited and can’t get action. There are still a lot people in the US who can’t access our product, and I think in those places, there will be a market.
“In a state that has legal sports betting, it is apples and oranges. The quality of the product and what it’s able to deliver for the consumer relative to the prediction markets, the product is so much stronger.
“I look at it as a geographic answer. It’s coming from California. It’s from Texas. It’s coming from places that don’t have a state regulated sports betting market. And I just don’t see a world where we’re in a state that has both, the regulated sportsbook product is just a vastly superior experience.”
Bill Hornbuckle, MGM Resorts International CEO
BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt told analyst on his H1 call that the JV would not be a “first mover”
“In the digital space, whether it’s us, FanDuel, DraftKings or any other competitor, there is plenty of innovation. A product in a marketplace that’s unregulated in the context of gaming and not taxed is competitively a major disadvantage for us.
“When we have gaming regulators in three states now telling us don’t do that, we have no choice but to take a position. Would we be a fast follower if, for some reason, it were to break through? Absolutely. What does it invite? It invites the notion that the federal government will step into our space. And that is something this industry has historically and categorically said no thank you to for decades.
“The products aren’t anywhere near as robust. Until that matures to that point, if it’s allowed to mature to that point, it kind of is what it is. It’s fascinating, in many respects. It’s something we all need to take a very close watch on.”
The post Flutter CEO says he is “pretty sanguine” about ICE’s $2bn Polymarket investment first appeared on EGR Intel.
Peter Jackson adds Kalshi’s same game parlay expansion looks “suspiciously like sports betting”, while DraftKings and MGM chiefs weigh in on the topic
The post Flutter CEO says he is “pretty sanguine” about ICE’s $2bn Polymarket investment first appeared on EGR Intel.