DraftKings Acquires Simplebet for $265M to Deepen Micro-Betting Infrastructure Ahead of NFL Playoffs
DraftKings has finalized its acquisition of micro-betting specialist Simplebet in a cash-and-stock deal valued at approximately $265 million. The move brings pitch-by-pitch and play-by-play wagering technology fully in-house as the operator targets a 15% increase in NFL postseason handle.
DraftKings announced Friday the completion of its $265 million acquisition of Simplebet, the Brooklyn-based technology firm that pioneered automated micro-market pricing for major US sports. The transaction, which closed roughly four months after an initial letter of intent was signed, consists of $190 million in cash with the remainder paid in DraftKings common stock subject to a 24-month lock-up. Simplebet's engineering team of 112 will relocate under the DraftKings sportsbook technology division led by Chief Product Officer Corey Gottlieb, while founder Chris Bevilacqua will serve as a strategic advisor through 2027.
The acquisition consolidates infrastructure that DraftKings had previously licensed on a per-market basis, a cost structure that company CFO Alan Ellingson described as 'increasingly misaligned with our volume trajectory' during a brief investor call. Simplebet's machine learning models generate real-time pricing for next-pitch, next-play, and next-possession markets across MLB, NFL, and NBA events, categories that DraftKings says accounted for 18% of in-play handle during the 2026 baseball season. By owning the pricing engine outright, the operator expects to compress latency on NFL micro-markets from 2.1 seconds to under 900 milliseconds in time for Wild Card weekend in January.
The deal also removes Simplebet as a vendor to several competing US sportsbooks, with FanDuel, BetRivers, and Hard Rock Bet all understood to hold existing contracts that will wind down over the next 18 months per transition agreements negotiated as part of the sale. Analysts at Macquarie noted in a morning briefing that the staggered contract expirations give rivals time to migrate to alternative providers such as Huddle or Metric Gaming, but warned that the talent concentration now sitting inside DraftKings 'materially raises the barrier to competitive parity in automated in-play.'
DraftKings shares rose 3.4% in early New York trading following the announcement, outpacing a flat broader gaming index. The company reiterated full-year revenue guidance of $6.8 billion to $7.1 billion and said integration costs related to the Simplebet transaction would be absorbed within existing operating expense forecasts. A product roadmap update detailing new micro-market categories, including same-drive parlays and quarter-specific player prop derivatives, is expected at the company's investor day in December.