DraftKings CEO Jason Robins says parents should talk with kids about gambling addiction

DraftKings CEO Jason Robins said parents should talk to their kids about gambling addiction and that he's tackled the subject with his own children.

"Every parent, even if you don't have a business or don't live in a world where the kids grow up around it, I think it's something every parent should have conversations with their kids about," Robins said in an interview with CNBC's Contessa Brewer.

Robins said his children have grown up around the gambling industry and even understand some of the terminology around sports betting.

"They know what point spreads and money lines are," he said. "They always ask me, 'Dad, do you know where the money is on for DraftKings today,' so they know who to root for, which I find funny."

Robins said he taught them at a young age how DraftKings works, but that they will have to wait until they are 21 years old to participate themselves.

Robins said he tries to keep communication open with his children about gambling and other subjects. He compared those conversations to questions children may ask when they see a parent drinking wine.

"The important thing is just to have a transparent relationship with your kids, where they feel like they can ask you anything," he said.

As sports betting has become more widespread, a recent analysis of health records found that gambling disorder diagnoses increased around 61% among people in states with legalized sports betting. In states without legalized sports betting, cases dropped roughly 30% from 2018 to 2026.

Young men ages 18 to 29 were found to have the highest rate of a gambling disorder, the study found.

Data from the National Council on Problem Gambling indicates that 8% of American adults, almost 20 million people, reported experiencing at least one indicator of problematic gambling behavior "many times" in the past year.

"Even though it's a small percentage, there's a lot of people using these products, so even a small percentage can be a meaningful number of people, and that's why we've invested so much," Robins said.

Robins said that DraftKings offers what the company calls "Responsible Gaming" tools such as account limits and self-exclusion, which allows customers to block themselves from gambling on its platforms.

Robins said the company also blocks some accounts based on behavior it observes, but argued that self-exclusion can have broader reach because some states share exclusion lists among regulated operators.

Robins said the Responsible Online Gaming Association, an industry group that includes major online gaming companies, is working on a nationwide self-exclusion list.

He said privacy laws and regulation make the effort complicated but he believes ROGA is making progress towards a national list.

Robins also said he would not object to a requirement that customers set gambling limits, though he called it a difficult policy question. He said he would like limit-setting to become routine, comparing it to wearing a seat belt.

"Everybody has a limit," he said. "You can set whatever number you want. At least then you're saying, okay this is what I'm comfortable with."

He added that some customers may believe they do not need the tools, while others may benefit from setting boundaries.