DraftKings is primed to lead this summer's domestic FIFA World Cup betting market, according to Wall Street analyst group Bernstein.
In a report published on the opening day of the tournament, June 11, the research firm noted that DraftKings carries advantages across several key verticals - potentially triggering an uptick in its stock market value.
The operator's predictions product also stands as a value proposition, with analysts viewing the 2026 FIFA World Cup as something of a trial period ahead of the new NFL season.
Is the Spanish-speaking audience more important than ever?
One central component tied to Bernstein's projections is that DraftKings penned commercial agreements with two pillar broadcasting outlets ahead of the World Cup: NBCUniversal and Telemundo.
The former provides English-speaking content, while the latter holds exclusive rights to Spanish-language World Cup coverage in the US. Having brokered advertisement packages with both media outlets, DraftKings benefits from increased audience exposure at a moment when fans are actively seeking deepened game engagement.
For Bernstein researcher Ian Moore, DraftKings stands to reap the greatest rewards from its Telemundo accord, where access to a "soccer-avid" user base could improve holistic interactivity:
"Its edge is in its marketing rails: the multi-year NBCUniversal tie-in and Telemundo's exclusive Spanish-language rights and DraftKings' Spanish-language app a privileged funnel into the highest-intent, most soccer-avid betting demographic in the country," explained Moore.
Preliminary figures pulled from broadcasters appear to reinforce Moore's prognostications. According to early numbers, the inaugural 2026 FIFA World Cup matchup between Mexico and South Africa attracted 12.1 million viewers for Telemundo and NBCUniversal streaming platforms. In turn, the fixture now represents the most-watched World Cup game across all Spanish-speaking US channels.
Similarly, Telemundo and its sibling platforms reported an average of 8.9 million viewers for the USMNTs first World Cup bout, a 4-1 victory over Paraguay, becoming the network's most-viewed World Cup affair not involving the Mexico national team.
DraftKings advertisements took center stage throughout both games. Given Telemundo's contractual commitment to the betting operator, ongoing public exposure is expected through all forthcoming televised fixtures.
Predictions expected to deliver enhanced engagement
Moore, who has operated as a Bernstein Equity Research Analyst since 2024, also anticipates upswings through World Cup trades processed on DraftKings Predictions.
Earlier this month, the operator confirmed that it had recorded $1.3B in annualized consumer volume across its predictions-focused vertical during May - a 24% improvement over the same metric for April. Total trading volume scaled upward by 34% to $3.1B.
Although that figure sits some way short of numbers reported by Kalshi and Polymarket, DraftKings believes its multi-feature functionality via the all-in-one "super app" will lift the brand above traditional competitors.
Speaking to CNBC, a DraftKings spokesperson stated that the platform expects a noteworthy performance uptick during the World Cup. Pertinently, the operator pointed to its Spanish-speaking in-app support as a core motivator for tangible gains this summer:
"Combined with our unified platform strategy, which allows customers to access either sportsbook or sports predictions, depending on location, and includes a Spanish-language feature, we believe the tournament has the potential to be a meaningful driver of both new customer acquisition and strong engagement across our existing customer base," said the company representative.
Crucial access to new markets
With sports betting outrightly banned in California, Texas and Florida, DraftKings cannot legally provide traditional betting services to roughly half of the nation's Hispanic contingent.
However, DraftKings Predictions is available in all three states - opening the door to potential revenue from users the operator had never previously been allowed to serve. The consequence of this newfound market access is clearly set out in Bernstein's report, where the firm describes that an additional two million funded DraftKings Predictions accounts should be secured by the end of this year.
Around 650,000 of those paid profiles are expected to launch during the World Cup, with the remaining proportion attributed to NFL activity.
World Cup viewed as a trial run for NFL season
While the 2026 FIFA World Cup is forecast by Moore - and the operator itself - to generate volume for DraftKings Predictions, other analysts argue that this summer's international soccer tournament serves as an ideal testbed ahead of the upcoming NFL campaign.
Jed Kelly, Oppenheimer Managing Director of Equity Research, contends that the World Cup presents the perfect opportunity for DraftKings to trial increased predictions functionality before intensified pressure in September:
"We believe DKNG can leverage product/customer acquisition costs, competencies, its vertical stack, and internal market-making to develop category-leading Prediction Markets for sportsfirst players into NFL," detailed Kelly.
Sportsbook chief sells shares amid value escalation
The stock market reacted kindly to DraftKings' preliminary trading figures and potential World Cup engagement, opening at $28.53 on Monday, June 15 - a 15.1% increase on the $24.78 seen during the previous week's first day of trading. Earlier, on June 11, DraftKings stock hit a six-month high by surpassing $30 per share.
This coincided with movement from DraftKings Chief Legal Officer Dodge R Stanton, who reportedly bought 62,500 shares via a stock option agreement signed in 2017, at $2.95 per share, and then sold the same number of shares at $28.90 to $30.07 per share, totaling $1.85M.
Such a maneuver comes at a bullish period for DraftKings stock, with investment bank Morgan Stanley highlighting a $39 price target.
Meanwhile, capital markets and investment business, Jefferies, maintained its existing $46 target for DraftKings, citing upsides in iGaming and online sports betting ventures. Unlike Bernstein, Jefferies sees much more reason to be cautious about DraftKings predictions due to market uncertainty.
Whether DraftKings achieves the top end of these projections will likely weigh on actual Spanish-language engagement and consumer interactivity within states where predictions stand as the primary - or only - revenue driver.
