DraftKings cuts costs as 4% of workforce made redundant
Sportsbook operator targets efficiency savings with jobs going primarily across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa
DraftKings has confirmed it will cut 140 jobs, about 4% of its total global workforce, as part of a company-wide reorganization aimed at cutting costs at the sportsbook and DFS operator.
Areas understood to be affected by the redundancies include the US as well as DraftKings’ international operations, however the bulk of the job cuts will be in the firm’s European, Middle East, and Africa divisions.
Roles in engineering and talent acquisition are expected to be cut, with a focus on operational efficiencies through the reorganization of teams.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the firm revealed more details on the rationale behind the cuts.
“With an increased focus on operational efficiencies, we are constantly evaluating our teams to ensure that they are best positioned to meet our company goals in 2023 and beyond,” the DraftKings spokesperson said.
“We have decided to reorganize some teams, which is resulting in the elimination of approximately 140 roles,” the spokesperson added.
It is understood DraftKings will be shifting its investments from its B2B division into the further development of its B2C mobile offering.
The redirection of investments from B2B to B2C is not a new thing for DraftKings, with CEO Jason Robins admitting during a 2021 Investor Day that B2C would always be a priority for DraftKings.
At the time, Robins said: “It doesn’t mean we don’t think we’ll have a nice B2B business, there is still growth [expected] over where we are right now. We just think from a relative investment standpoint that it’s hard to say [what that growth will be].
“We didn’t want to count on being able to have hypergrowth on the B2C side and have really strong growth on the B2B side [as well]. We thought it made sense to be a bit more cautious,” he added.
DraftKings’ B2B operations focus on the licensing of former SBTech sportsbook technology and the provision of managed services to its B2B partners.
DraftKings has B2B sportsbook partnerships with a number of European operators including Svenska Spel and MansionBet as well as South African gaming and hospitality group Peermont, all of which come through B2B offerings from its SBTech subsidiary.
DraftKings’ stock rose 10% on the Nasdaq stock exchange, trading at $16.48 per share.