Ep 320: DraftKings surcharge - faux pas or too big to fail? with Steve Ruddock

Gambling twitter blew up last week after DraftKings announced a customer surcharge on every winning wager in four different states (Vermont, Illinois, Pennsylvania and New York). With the internet abuzz about the wagering giant offloading some of the added tax cost onto their winning customers, Jessica Welman, Editor of SBC Americas, invited her former colleague, and industry newsletter and podcast extraordinaire Steve Ruddock (of Straight to the Point) to iGaming Daily, supported by Optimove.

What is the thinking behind this move? What next for the states at 20 per cent? Or even below? How does this compare with other industries? And how are other operators dealing with the high tax rates? Jess gets Steve's thoughts on all of these questions, as well as his reaction to the comments made by DraftKings CEO, Jason Robins, on the operator's Q2 earnings call defending the move.

Finally, Jess and Steve chat about what success looks like for DraftKings and the industry with this measure.

To read more on the topics discussed in today's episode, click on the following links:

- Gov. Pritzker signs Illinois sports betting tax hike into law (sbcamericas.com)
- DraftKings to Implement Customer Surcharges Starting Jan. 1 (sbcamericas.com)

Host: Jessica Welman
Guests: Steve Ruddock
Producer: Anaya McDonald
Editor: James Ross

Remember to check out Optimove at https://hubs.la/Q02gLC5L0 or go to Optimove.com/sbc to get your first month free when buying the industry's leading customer-loyalty service.