DraftKings’ leadership is about to change significantly, as Matt Kalish, President and one of the Co-Founders of the company, is stepping down from his position.
An SEC filing from DraftKings has indicated that Kalish will no longer serve as the operator’s President from 31 March, 2026, but he will remain as a Director on the company’s board of directors.
Alongside CEO Jason Robins and President of Global Product and Technology Paul Liberman, Kalish founded DraftKings with the launch of the daily sports platform in 2012.
The company has since grown beyond the fantasy sports space to become one of the biggest online sports betting and casino operators in the US.
Although Kalish may be departing, those ambitions for DraftKings appear to be broadening once more, this time into the predictions market.
UPDATE: Robins told iGaming Expert: “Matt Kalish has been my partner, along with Paul Liberman, in building DraftKings from day one. The three of us have led this company through every stage of its journey, and Matt’s impact on DraftKings and on all of us has been tremendous.
“I’m grateful he’ll stay with us through the end of March, and continue to serve as a member of our Board of Directors following the transition. His guidance and insights will remain a valuable part of DraftKings as we grow further and innovate for the future.”
‘A significant incremental opportunity’
DraftKings has plans in place to enter the predictions market following the acquisition of derivatives exchange Railbird Technologies in October for an undisclosed price. The company will likely leverage its partnerships with ESPN and NBCUniversal to expand the reach of its prediction market platform – DraftKings Predictions.
The operator will be launching the platform in the coming months, with Robins describing predictions as “a significant incremental opportunity” during the company’s third quarter of 2025 business update earlier this month.
The CEO is also hopeful that the development of the predictions market across the US will lead to more states being open to regulating iGaming and online sports betting.
Robins said: “We are excited about our pending launch of DraftKings Predictions and its potential to expand our total addressable market.
“In the coming months, we expect DraftKings Predictions to enter many states with sport event contracts, unlocking a new customer base and revenue stream. Nearly half the country’s population remains without access to legal online sports betting, but there are several other companies offering federally regulated Predictions in all 50 states.
“As growth in Predictions continues, this may also motivate more states to legalise online sports betting and iGaming with reasonable regulation and taxation.”
Uncertainty
Despite the buzz surrounding prediction markets in the US currently, Robins made sure to tell DraftKings investors during the company’s Q3 earnings call that they’re well aware of the uncertainty that they bring.
“The actual predictions product is unknown at this point in terms of what the longevity of customers will look like, what the spend will look like,” the CEO said.
“The products themselves are super nascent, so I imagine retention initially is going to be a challenge. Over time, I think that it will get better.”
