DraftKings has quickly grown to become the second-biggest legal US sportsbook in terms of total market share. Over the past three years, the Boston-based company has remained extremely active in its efforts to grow and expand that share.
This ongoing effort includes strategic partnerships, marketing sponsorships with sports leagues and individual teams and timely acquisitions to expand the company’s business footprint. The most recent company news out of Boston details a new initiative aimed at promoting the responsible use of its products and services.
On May 24, DraftKings announced its intent to financially support the International Center for Responsible Gaming (ICRG). The money will go directly to the Fund to Support Research on Sports Wagering.
By taking this innovative approach to a global gaming issue, the ICRG will have the necessary means to request applications from researchers around the world. This will lead to impactful research projects that delve deeper into problem gambling as it exists today.
The Fund is specifically designed to address issues directly related to responsible sports betting. The goal is to develop scientifically-based research that provides vital contributions to a better understanding of the issues at hand. This will also address the application of measures to promote responsible gaming within the industry.
Jason Robbins is one of DraftKings’ co-founders and the company’s current CEO and Chairman of the Board. His comments on this groundbreaking initiative included:
The cornerstone of our commitment to customers is providing an enjoyable sports betting and gaming experience, and we recognize that we have a responsibility to ensure that customers are playing safely.
He went on to add:
We are pleased to support the critical mission of the International Center for Responsible Gaming and fund important research that will drive responsible gaming innovation and customer safety forward for the entire industry.
This is a first-of-its-kind research fund in the US sports betting industry. The ICRG created the Fund as a means to taking an innovative approach to promoting “best practices” for responsible sports betting.
The next step of the process is requesting applications from qualified researchers covering the following three topics:
- Differences in sports wagering compared to other forms of gaming
- Evaluation of efficacy of existing responsible gaming innovations and programs
- Differences in prevalence and experience of problem gambling across demographics
Dr. Russell Sanna is the executive director of ICRG. He added the following comments in the DraftKings’ recent company release:
We are incredibly honored to have DraftKings’ financial support, which was instrumental in satisfying our funding needs for the Fund to Support Research on Sports Wagering.
With the expansion of sports betting across the United States, public health research will be critical in better understanding problem gaming, and we are deeply appreciative of the support from DraftKings to fund research that is cutting-edge and can be utilized across the industry and by consumers.
The research fund is open to US-based or international public, private or non-profit organizations. A special website has been created to gain more information on the Fund including the specifics on how to apply.
