DraftKings’ revenue plunges in Oregon
February revenue from Oregon online sports betting narrowed dramatically for DraftKings. The company is the sole online sports betting provider in the state.
DraftKings realized US$7.2 million in OSB revenue, a 25.6% plunge from the same month in 2025. Handle, however, rose 3.4% to US$70.6 million, enabling DraftKings to realize a 10.2% hold on monies wagered.
Oregon books have been holding more loosely during the first quarter, at a clip of 12%, compared to 14.6% in the initial quarter of 2025. During that time, OSB revenue has slid 17.4%.
Parlays dominated revenue, representing US$5.4 million of win. They also constituted 24.7% of total handle. That was a 4.4% slippage in win but a 10.5% increase in handle percentage. Parlay wagers held at a tight 22.1% and represented 34.9% of wagers made.
Single bets held very loosely, with the house retaining 3.8% of handle. They constituted US$1.7 million of win, a 56.1% plummet. As a portion of handle they were flat, at US$46 million.
Football handle shot up 28.8%, breaking a football-season trend of slightly lower wagering. During that period, however, non-football betting rose 9.7%.
David McKee is an award-winning journalist who has three decades of experience covering the gaming industry.
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The Backstory
Why Oregon’s numbers look different
DraftKings is the lone online sportsbook in Oregon under the state lottery’s model, which concentrates all digital action with a single operator. That structure can amplify month-to-month swings driven by betting mix, promotional cadence and seasonality because there is no rival app to absorb volatility or entice bettors with alternative pricing. It also means shifts in hold — the share of wagers retained by the house — translate immediately into revenue peaks and troughs.
Oregon’s recent pattern shows the sensitivity. Handle ticked up while hold tightened, a combination that can depress win even when interest rises. With no competing operators, DraftKings cannot offset a soft hold with incremental market share gains the way it might in a multi-operator state. As a result, Oregon’s top-line revenue becomes more exposed to product mix and bettor behavior, especially around parlays versus straight bets.
The lottery alignment also shapes marketing and product decisions. With one platform in market, promotions are meant to broaden engagement rather than defend share. That helps explain why Oregon’s sportsbook periodically leans into headline-grabbing themes tied to tentpole events to activate casual play.
Parlays drive the bus — until they don’t
Across U.S. markets, parlay depth has been the engine of sportsbook profits. Operators design same-game and multi-leg products to increase hold, and the math works — until bettors hit a stretch where singles outperform. Recent Oregon data underscored the dynamic: parlays generated the vast majority of win and held tightly, while single bets held thin and revenue from straight wagers cratered.
The same story line shows up elsewhere. In New York, performance gaps have tracked closely with parlay reliance and execution. During one recent month, FanDuel — long the industry’s parlay pacesetter — posted the highest hold among leading books, while DraftKings held near the market average amid broader softness for rivals. That divergence was captured in a February snapshot where DraftKings grew win despite a dip in handle as competitors’ revenue fell, highlighting how mix and pricing on complex bets can protect the bottom line when straight bets run cold.
By May, the parlay effect was again visible as statewide revenue outpaced handle growth. New York operators benefited from an elevated average hold, with FanDuel leading and DraftKings close behind, signaling sustained consumer appetite for higher-margin wager types. A breakdown of that month showed revenue up faster than handle on double-digit hold, reinforcing how deeply parlay design and adoption now influence outcomes even in mature markets.
Event-led engagement, Oregon style
Oregon’s monopoly model relies on event-driven spikes to bring casual bettors into the ecosystem. Ahead of Super Bowl LIX, the lottery introduced a slate of Taylor Swift-themed props on the DraftKings app aimed at broadening participation and riding cultural momentum. The campaign’s framing — light, accessible wagers tied to songs and storylines — fit the state’s emphasis on onboarding new or infrequent players during the year’s most visible betting window. The rollout, officials said at the time, taps the Super Bowl’s unique ability to draw in non-regulars and generate the highest annual betting interest.
That effort was detailed in coverage of how the Oregon Lottery used Swift-branded props to juice Super Bowl engagement. Since launch in 2019, the channel has accumulated billions in legal wagers, and marquee events remain the primary onramp for casual users. The strategy helps explain why football handle can rise even when straight-bet economics turn unfavorable. Entertainment-led props can lift participation and handle, but the revenue impact hinges on how those bets are priced and how frequently they resolve into parlays versus singles.
For a single-operator state, the trade-off is clear: splashy campaigns can widen the funnel and support handle, yet revenue swings will still track to hold. When single bets keep paying out and parlays do not carry the load, the top line lags even in busy months.
New York’s shifting leaderboard offers clues
New York, the nation’s largest online sports betting market, offers a live laboratory for how DraftKings performs when competition is intense and mix moves fast. In March, the Madness effect reshuffled the deck, with DraftKings surpassing FanDuel in revenue for the first time in more than a year on soaring handle and improved win. FanDuel’s revenue slipped as DraftKings’ climbed, compressing a long-standing gap between the two leaders and underscoring the importance of tournament dynamics, player acquisition and parlay conversion during peak events.
The month prior, DraftKings had already demonstrated resilience by growing win in a downshift for peers, despite a modest decline in its own handle. That February outperformance set the stage for March’s surge and showed how tuning promotions, pricing and parlay menus can cushion revenue when straight-bet results are choppy.
By late spring, as operators posted stronger holds, New York data showed revenue growth again outrunning handle expansion. With double-digit hold lifting statewide win in May, market share between FanDuel and DraftKings remained tight. For Oregon, where DraftKings cannot claw share from a rival to offset a thin month, the New York experience illustrates what’s missing: competitive levers that can compensate for volatility in singles and shorten recovery arcs after a soft stretch.
Price sensitivity and policy risk beyond Oregon
Tax and fee policies shape bettor behavior, and operators pass through costs when they can. Illinois provides a cautionary signal. After the state layered a per-wager tax last fall — a quarter on the first 20 million bets per sportsbook, then 50 cents on every wager after — major operators responded with a flat 50-cent fee to customers. The impact was swift. The state reported millions fewer bets year over year in the following months as price-sensitive bettors weighed higher costs, legal alternatives and the pull of unregulated sites.
Industry advocates tied the decline directly to the policy change, arguing that sophisticated bettors chase the best price in a fragmented marketplace. The episode, documented in coverage of Illinois’ betting plunge after its new tax, highlights how small changes to cost per bet can suppress activity, especially among frequent players who drive volumes.
For Oregon, the lesson is twofold. First, the lottery’s single-operator framework shields consumers from operator-on-operator price wars but does not immunize the market from policy-driven frictions that raise effective costs or constrain product design. Second, because DraftKings cannot replace lost volume with share gains, any policy move that lifts per-bet costs or limits high-margin products would likely translate more directly into revenue softness, even if handle holds up around marquee events.
Taken together, recent developments in Oregon, New York and Illinois trace a clear through line: outcomes hinge on the balance of parlay adoption, hold management, promotional timing and pricing power. In a market of one, the levers are fewer and the swings more visible.
