DraftKings Announces Acquisition of Microbetting Provider Simplebet

DraftKings, one of our best sports betting sites, has made a consistent effort to offer its clientele the most complete sports betting platform. That goal took another step Wednesday with the announcement that the Boston-based betting behemoth is taking over Simplebet 's in-play betting and AI-assisted products.

DraftKings had previously owned 15% of the Simplebet microbetting technology, which stemmed from an agreement dating back to 2021.

That deal allowed DraftKings to include real money microbetting technology on its top-tier sports betting app. Wednesday’s announcement fully brings the Simplebet suite of technology in-house and acts as just the latest acquisition for DraftKings in the bustling U.S. legal sports betting industry.

What is Simplebet

Simplebet was founded in 2018, shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court announced an overturning of its blanket ban on sports betting.

Since then, the company has become one of the biggest and best microbetting companies operating in the North American market and has taken advantage of the rapid popularity of live betting markets.  

Microbetting, or live betting, is widely known as the fastest-growing sector of legal sports betting markets. According to estimates, it could alone generate $20 billion per year in wagering activity by 2027.

Simplebet provides proprietary microbetting content and pricing for the best sportsbooks operating in North America, including DraftKings, bet365, Caesars, ESPN BET, FanDuel, and Hard Rock Bet.

The business-to-business provider offers microbetting markets and pricing for all of North America’s top sports betting leagues, including the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, and NCAA sporting action.

Chris Bevilacqua, Simplebet co-founder and CEO, hailed the strengthened relationship with DraftKings, saying, “Joining forces with our long-term collaborators at DraftKings will further the Simplebet mission to make every sports moment matter. This transformative acquisition, upon completion, will marry our best-in-class AI and machine learning technology with the DraftKings product offering, enhancing the customer experience for a new era of real-time, in-play gaming.”

Motivation

DraftKings has been locked in a longtime battle with FanDuel to be the best U.S.sports betting app. The acquisition of the premier live-betting microbetting provider is aimed at dramatically improving its overall DraftKings sports betting experience.

Live betting is seen as the future of the U.S. legal sports betting industry, and DraftKings is fully committed to it and using DraftKings promo codes.

“Live betting represents an area for potential growth for online sports betting, and the proposed acquisition would allow DraftKings to leverage Simplebet’s proprietary technology to create an in-play wagering experience that moves at the speed of sports,” DraftKings Chief Product Officer Corey Gottlieb said.

“And, while we continue to elevate our product offering in this space, we are also committed to building technology that supports our robust consumer protection standards.”

The timing

The Wednesday announcement of DraftKings’ move to acquire Simplebet didn’t take many by surprise. Rumors of the transaction started to surface as far back as May.

At that time, Simplebet reported nearly doubling its handle and unique users in its MLB markets. The company followed that with an announcement in June that NBA microbetting markets had grown 75% in the 2023-2024 season compared to the 2022-2023 season.

The bread-and-butter NFL season is here and represents a microbetting market that rose 60% last season compared to 2022.