Skip to content
Subscriber Only
Technology

DraftKings Gets Back to Sports After a Run of Oddball Bets

  • Sportsbooks had been taking wagers on tweets, esports, darts
  • Baseball’s debut Thursday marks return for major U.S. sports
San Diego Padres against Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on July 22.

San Diego Padres against Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on July 22.

Photographer: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

Updated on

As big-time sports fell one by one in March, DraftKings Inc. and Flutter Entertainment Plc’s FanDuel hatched crazy ways to entice America’s gamblers. Players could win money on Kim Kardashian’s tweets or July 4 Google searches: hot dogs versus hamburgers.

Now they’re gearing up for the real thing, starting with Major League Baseball’s opening day Thursday, and investors look like the real winners. Despite the shutdown, not one analyst has downgraded their recommendation for DraftKings, even with the shares almost doubling from their April debut on the public markets. Flutter has risen similarly from March lows.