DraftKings Bets Big on Gift Cards This Holiday Season

Photo of Chris Lange
By Chris Lange Published
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.
DraftKings Bets Big on Gift Cards This Holiday Season

© cybrain / Getty Images

DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ: DKNG | DKNG Price Prediction) has been one of the more innovative companies in 2020, taking gambling to an online platform. Despite the ravages of COVID-19, the online casino has proven to be fairly lucrative, as most of the regular casinos have been locked down. This most recent move by the company is less of a gamble and more of a calculated risk.

The online digital sports and gaming firm announced Tuesday that it would be partnering with InComm Payments, a global payments technology company, to launch a first-of-its-kind retail gift card.

By leveraging InComm Payments’ retail network, DraftKings is expanding its reach with physical distribution and brand presence to the most frequently visited retail chains across the country. The launch will expand DraftKings’ presence in convenience stores like 7-Eleven, Speedway, Dollar General and Sheetz, and also it will enable consumers to gift these DraftKings cards to others in $25 and $50 denominations.

One thing to consider here is what this move actually exposes DraftKings to. In the past, DraftKings would only be able to take online or digital payments from customers, or even just payments from credit cards. This move further exposes DraftKings to cold hard cash, where anyone without a credit card or bank account can still buy into the “DraftKings experience.”

[nativounit]

There are some implications on what this move could mean for some demographics of DraftKings customer base, but ultimately getting into gift cards expands the base.

Management took the marketing perspective and said that this agreement not only offers consumers a great gifting opportunity but also represents a significant brand expansion and enhancement opportunity for DraftKings, which, for the first time, will benefit from having its brand present in tens of thousands of InComm Payments’ retail partner locations across the United States.

DraftKings stock traded up more than 3% Wednesday morning, at $52.20 in a 52-week range of $10.09 to $64.19. The consensus price target is $59.74.

[recirclink id=824952][wallst_email_signup]

Photo of Chris Lange
About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.

Featured Reads

Our top personal finance-related articles today. Your wallet will thank you later.

Continue Reading

Top Gaining Stocks

CBOE Vol: 1,568,143
PSKY Vol: 12,285,993
STX Vol: 7,378,346
ORCL Vol: 26,317,675
DDOG Vol: 6,247,779

Top Losing Stocks

LKQ
LKQ Vol: 4,367,433
CLX Vol: 13,260,523
SYK Vol: 4,519,455
MHK Vol: 1,859,865
AMGN Vol: 3,818,618