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Jason Robins

Executive

Type
Person
Role
Executive
Updated

The profile

DraftKings co-founder, chief executive and controlling shareholder. The company went public through a SPAC on April 23, 2020; Robins holds about 89% of the votes and took a $1 salary in 2023 and 2024.

Identity and role

Jason D. Robins is chief executive officer and chairman of DraftKings Inc., the Boston-based fantasy-sports, sports-betting and online-casino company. He co-founded it in December 2011, has been CEO since its inception, and has been chairman since April 2020. The 2025 proxy statement lists his age as 44.

Biography / career arc

Robins founded DraftKings with Matt Kalish and Paul Liberman, both still executives and directors in 2025. His proxy biography says he "has led efforts at DraftKings to work with policy makers and regulators to pass fantasy sports, sports betting and iGaming legislation." He also served on the board of FirstMark Horizon Acquisition Corp., a special-purpose acquisition company, from September 2020 until its merger with Starry, Inc. in March 2022, and sits on the board of Extend, Inc., a seller of extended-warranty contracts.

Pandemic-relief / PPP-EIDL role

DraftKings needed no relief program; it had the public markets. On April 23, 2020, stockholders of Diamond Eagle Acquisition Corp. approved a three-way combination of the SPAC, DraftKings and SBTech (Global) Limited, a sports-betting technology supplier. The combined company's Class A shares began trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market the next day as DKNG. "Today marks another milestone for DraftKings and the future of digital sports entertainment and gaming in America," Robins said. The company then had about 2,300 employees.

It grew through the pandemic and after. Revenue for 2024 was $4.77 billion, up from $3.67 billion in 2023, and adjusted EBITDA was $181.3 million, against a loss of $151.0 million the year before. The GAAP net loss for 2024 was $507.3 million.

Their own relief

The SBA's PPP data show no loan to DraftKings. No relief loan to Robins personally appears in the documents cited here. The 2025 proxy lists his annual base salary as $1.00 in both 2023 and 2024, as it does for Kalish and Liberman.

Robins has not been charged with any crime. He was a named defendant in a securities class action. Rodriguez v. DraftKings Inc., filed July 2, 2021 in the Southern District of New York and later consolidated as In re DraftKings Inc. Securities Litigation (No. 1:21-cv-05739), sued the company, Robins and others on behalf of investors who bought between December 23, 2019 and June 15, 2021. It relied on a June 15, 2021 Hindenburg Research report alleging that "SBTech has a long and ongoing record of operating in black markets." On January 10, 2023 Judge Paul A. Engelmayer granted the defendants' motion to dismiss, with prejudice.

On July 25, 2025 the Massachusetts Gaming Commission fined the company's Massachusetts operator $450,000. From March 10, 2023 to February 13, 2024 it had accepted 1,160 wagers funded by 242 credit-card deposits from 218 customers, totaling $83,667.92, although state law bars credit in sports wagering. DraftKings had reported the lapses itself. The commission ordered the money returned and an independent audit.

Where they are now (2025–2026)

Robins remains chief executive and chairman and controls the vote. At the 2025 record date there were 499,955,809 Class A shares with one vote each and 393,013,951 Class B shares with ten votes each; the proxy says Robins "currently possesses approximately 89% of the total voting power," so the election of the board's nominees "is assured."

Sources

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