DraftKings Shares Surge as May Prediction Market Volume Jumps

• DraftKings said its prediction market volume surged 24% month-over-month in May
• On an annualized basis, that’s a 34% increase
• Investors liked the news, sending the stock higher

Shares of DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG) rallied on Tuesday (June 9) after the company announced that volume on its prediction market platform, DraftKings Predictions, jumped in May.

In midday trading, shares of the gaming stock are higher by 7.51% on volume that appears poised to exceed the daily average after the Boston-based sportsbook operator published a form 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) indicating its event contract volume significantly increased during the month of May.

DraftKings announced that in May 2026, annualized consumer volume in the Company’s Predictions offering increased 24% month-over-month to $1.3 billion and annualized total volume traded increased 34% month-over-month to $3.1 billion, in each case as compared to April 2026,” according to the regulatory document.

DraftKings launched its eponymous prediction market platform last December, rolling it out in 38 states, including several heavily populated jurisdictions where online sports betting isn’t permitted.

Why DraftKings Stock Is Responding to the Update

Market participants are viewing DraftKings’ May prediction market update through a bullish lens for multiple reasons.

Those include the point that the company previously noted it will spend up to $300 million this year ramping DraftKings Predictions. Shareholders were rattled by that projection, but prediction markets progress is allaying those concerns.

“If you look back to what we thought we were, it would be today when we were in 2020. We were pointing at a $20 billion TAM and thinking that was where we would evolve to,” said the chief financial officer at the conference.

“Our most recent Investor Day, though, we’ve expanded the TAM. We’re now thinking $55 billion to $80 billion, and it’s getting exciting with some of the expansion in prediction markets,” Ellingson added.

DraftKings Predictions’ May volume surge is relevant to investors for other reasons. It confirms the operator is capturing some of the industry’s steadily growing turnover and it was accrued during a month in which sports bettors and traders had no access to American football.

Spend a Little, Gain a Lot

Any new venture requires upfront capital commitments and DraftKings investors appear to be reconciling that as the operator’s prediction market volume increases, positioning that unit as a contributor to long-term growth for the company.

“Our core business is extremely strong. When a new entrant comes in like prediction markets that has an opportunity to expand the TAM, capture new customers, especially in states where we don’t have a Sportsbook offering, we’re going to invest to get there. And it is a J-curve investment,” said Ellingson at the Gabelli conference. “We spend a little bit upfront to acquire the customers, and then those customers generate profits long term.”

DraftKings does not offer sports event contracts in the states in which it operates online sportsbooks.