Cathie Wood’s Ark Innovation ETF Just Completely Exited DraftKings

Cathie Wood’s flagship ARK Innovation ETF (NYSE: ARKK) has completely eliminated its position in DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG), marking a definitive exit from the sports betting giant.

The gaming stock was one of nearly a dozen positions eliminated or reduced in the first half of 2026 across ARKK and a pair of the asset manager’s other ETFs as the firm upped its exposure to artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductor and space stocks.

The $7.26 billion ARKK and two other ARK Invest funds were among the earliest ETF adopters of DraftKings stock as Wood’s firm embraced the stock in early 2021, soon after its initial public offering (IPO). At various points over DraftKings’ time as a public company, ARK was close to the top 10 institutional shareholders of the gaming stock.

ARK, which started buying DraftKings stock in February 2021, primarily issues actively managed ETFs — a status that applies to ARKK, meaning it’s possible the sports betting equity could rejoin that ETF in the future.

ARKK Has Plenty of Prediction Market Exposure

While regulatory rules don’t require fund managers to disclose the reasoning behind individual trades, many high-profile investors frequently “talk their books.” ARK Invest, however, has remained quiet on this move, offering no official comment on why DraftKings was scrubbed from its flagship portfolio.

Depending on how one defines wagering, ARKK maintains heavy exposure to the broader betting ecosystem via prediction markets. For instance, Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN) and Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ: HOOD)—both major gateways for event-contract volume—command spots in the ETF’s top 10 holdings.

Beyond public equities, ARK is a major backer of Kalshi, participating in multiple recent funding rounds for the prediction market pioneer, including its massive $1 billion Series F. While Kalshi remains privately held, it secures a top-10 allocation inside the actively managed, closed-end ARK Venture Fund.

While ARK’s research underscores a structural bullishness on event contracts, the firm hasn’t explicitly soured on traditional sports betting. Ironically, the flagship fund’s divestment comes just as DraftKings itself aggressively expands its footprint into the prediction market space.

DraftKings Still in Some ARK ETFs

Nearly 150 ETFs own shares of DraftKings, according to ETF Research Center data. As noted above, ARKK isn’t one of them, but two other ARK ETFs still hold shares of the betting stock.

Entering today, the $1.81 billion ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (NYSE: ARKW) allocated 1% of its roster to DraftKings while the ARK Blockchain & Fintech Innovation ETF (NYSE: ARKF) had an almost 2% stake in the gaming stock.

Like ARKK, those ETFs are actively managed so there’s flexibility to decrease or increase exposure to DraftKings (and any other stock) as the fund managers see fit.