By CultureBanx Team
- Michael Jordan has taken an equity stake in DraftKings and will join its board as a special adviser
- The U.S. sports betting and online gambling market will reach over $128B by the year 2026
Michael “His Airness” Jordan has taken an equity stake in sports betting platform DraftKings (DKNG -3.32%). The company plans to tap into the Hall of Fame basketball player’s expertise on sports company strategy, product development, and diversity among other other key initiatives, according to the release. Since there’s a growing market for U.S. sports betting and online gambling that Transparency Market Research predicts will reach over $128 billion by the year 2026 , this deal can help Jordan soar to new heights.
Why This Matters: Jordan has always possessed a penchant for high-stakes gambling, that even threatened to derail his basketball career at one point, now he’s parlayed it into another legitimate revenue stream. The announcement sent shares of DraftKings soaring up more than 8%. Even though the size of his investment was not disclosed, the company noted Jordan will join its board as a special adviser.
DraftKings went public in April and was worth about $780M at that time, it’s now worth north of $13B.
During a 1993 interview Jordan famously said he didn’t have a gambling problem but “a competition problem”. Call it what you want, either way this should be very lucrative for him. DraftKings just went public back in April through a special-purpose acquisition company, or Spac, and was worth about $780 million at that time. The company is now worth north of $13 billion.
Eighteen states, representing just over 30% of the U.S. population now have regulated sports betting markets, with several more on deck. Americans gamble more than $150 billion illegally on sports in a year, according to estimates from the American Gaming Association, about another $5 billion comes in legally.
Situational Awareness: Jordan is an important figure in the politicized business of sports, especially amid a global reckoning over racial injustice. He has pledged $100 million over the next 10 years towards organizations which benefit the black community.
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