DraftKings has launched a new subscription service that will give members increased odds on the types of bets that are most profitable for the company.
DraftKings Sportsbook+, which debuted earlier this week in New York, will cost members $20 a month. In return, they will receive what the company calls “stepped up” boosts for all parlays where the individual legs are -500 or narrower. For parlays with two legs, users will see profits increase by 10%, with the boost growing as the parlays get bigger. For parlays with 11 or more legs, the profit increase 100%, or double.
“The subscription service was designed to offer our customers an enhanced fan experience, creating more excitement and value to our extensive parlay offering,” DraftKings said in a statement. The statement said the offering will start with “select, eligible customers” only in New York, though it was not specific about who would qualify.
DraftKings Sportsbook+ is likely an enticing proposition for those who want to make longshot bets even more lucrative. It’s also a nudge toward the types of bets that deliver the highest margins for sportsbooks. They offer the allure of large payouts, but with the requirement that every single leg be correct for the bet to cash.
On both the company’s Q1 and Q2 earnings calls earlier this year, CEO and chairman Jason Robins discussed the explicit aims of increasing parlay adoption, and increasing the average number of parlay legs. The company’s “progressive parlay” product, which launched in December 2023 and allows bettors to win some money if some parlay picks miss, serves a similar function.
“Certainly, we feel like there’s a ton of room to increase our parlay mix and increase our average leg count still,” he said on the Q2 called in August. “So [the] team is very focused on that.”
Three months later, on the Q3 call, both Robins and CFO Alan Ellingson discussed success in those efforts, with margins on NFL parlays on pace to grow 5% (500 bps) over the prior season.
“Structural sportsbook hold percentages increased year-over-year as customers continued to enjoy our parlay offerings,” Ellingson said.
Odds boosts are also a valuable customer retention tool, a marketing expense that helps keep some bettors loyal to one platform or another. Those boosts are frequently given most heavily in the early stages of a new market—right after a new state launches, for example—but they live on continually in various forms to help prevent churn. DraftKings Sportsbook+ will offer users the ability to utilize an unlimited number of boosts, a rarity in U.S. sports betting.
DraftKings stock (Nasdaq: DKNG) is up about 15% in the last 12 months.