DraftKings CEO Robins Calls for Parent-Led Talks on Youth Gambling

DraftKings co-founder and chief executive Jason Robins has said parents must share responsibility for keeping children away from gambling, alongside operators and the wider gaming industry.

Speaking to CNBC gaming reporter Contessa Brewer, Robins argued that open, continuous dialogue between parents and children is central to preventing underage gambling as betting culture becomes more visible in everyday life.

"I think is something every parent should have conversations with their kids about," Robins said, according to Casino.org News, which reported his comments this week.

He said conversations about gambling should be treated by families in the same way as discussions about alcohol or sex, rather than avoided.

"I talk to them about everything," Robins said of his own children. "I think the important thing is to have a transparent relationship with your kids where they feel like they can ask you anything and you can have an open conversation."

The comments come as legal sports betting and its promotion by professional and collegiate leagues have coincided with a reported rise in gambling among younger adults. Sports prediction markets, which allow users aged 18 and over to trade, have added to concerns about problem gambling in this group.

DraftKings operates its own prediction product, DraftKings Predictions, in select markets. Because these markets sit under federal financial regulation rather than state gaming commissions, operators including DraftKings face an unsettled legal landscape as courts and state regulators dispute the limits of local enforcement.

Research cited this week by the Center for Gambling Studies at Rutgers University found that almost 43% of US adolescents aged 13 to 17 had gambled in the past year. Among those who did, nearly 40% showed some level of problem gambling behaviour, and 10.3% met the clinical threshold for high-risk problem gambling.

Robins' remarks arrive alongside continued public criticism of DraftKings' marketing reach among younger audiences. Personal finance broadcaster Dave Ramsey has repeatedly accused the company of putting revenue ahead of player protection, saying earlier this year that operators including DraftKings are "screwing an entire generation of young men" and that this is "why they can afford to buy all of these ads."

DraftKings and rival operator FanDuel are also facing several federal, state and city lawsuits alleging deceptive marketing practices, according to Casino.org News.

Separately, the National Council on Problem Gambling commissioned polling that found only around half of parents are currently discussing gambling with their teenagers. In response, the NCPG said it would develop educational tools to help guide those conversations.

NCPG board chair Derek Longmeier said the organisation is "hearing from parents who want to better understand the risks and are asking for practical resources to help them have these conversations with their kids."

The overlapping pressures of industry marketing, unresolved prediction-market regulation and uneven parental engagement leave operators, regulators and families each holding a piece of the response to youth gambling risk.