DraftKings CEO said parents should talk with kids about gambling

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Jason Robins said he has discussed gambling with his own children, and that DraftKings offers account limits and self-exclusion tools

Vivien Killilea / Getty Images

DraftKings CEO Jason Robins said gambling addiction is a subject parents should raise with their children, and that he has done so with his own. "Every parent, even if you don't have a business or don't live in a world where the kids grow up around it, I think it's something every parent should have conversations with their kids about," Robins told CNBC.

Robins said his kids grew up surrounded by the gambling business, so terms like point spreads and money lines are familiar to them. He said he explained DraftKings to them when they were small, and that they cannot participate until they turn 21.

He likened the talks to the curiosity a child might express upon seeing a parent drink wine. "The important thing is just to have a transparent relationship with your kids, where they feel like they can ask you anything," he said, according to CNBC.

Between 2018 and 2026, gambling disorder diagnoses rose roughly 61% in states where sports betting is legal and fell about 30% in states without it, according to CNBC, which cited a review of patient health records. The analysis found the steepest rates of gambling disorder among men between 18 and 29, according to CNBC.

Data from the National Council on Problem Gambling shows that roughly 20 million Americans, or 8% of adults, said they had experienced at least one sign of risky betting habits "many times" over the past year, according to CNBC. "Even though it's a small percentage, there's a lot of people using these products, so even a small percentage can be a meaningful number of people, and that's why we've invested so much," Robins said.

Robins said DraftKings provides "Responsible Gaming" tools such as limits on accounts and self-exclusion, a feature that lets customers bar themselves from using its platforms. He said the company itself restricts certain accounts in response to customer conduct that it sees. He argued that the reach of self-exclusion can be wider, since in some states regulated operators share their exclusion lists with one another.

The Responsible Online Gaming Association, an industry body whose members include major online gaming companies, is developing a nationwide self-exclusion list, Robins said. He said data-privacy rules and regulatory hurdles slow the work, but he believes the group is making headway.

Robins said he would be open to requiring customers to set limits on their gambling, though he described the matter as a tough policy question. He said he hopes setting limits becomes as habitual as buckling up in a car. "Everybody has a limit," he said, according to CNBC. "You can set whatever number you want. At least then you're saying, okay this is what I'm comfortable with."

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission said in September it would examine how DraftKings and other licensed betting companies use artificial intelligence, after a report that DraftKings used machine learning to target customers likely to keep betting and losing after receiving promotions. DraftKings said it does not use AI to target anyone based on losses. The commission has not determined that the company committed any wrongdoing.

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