DraftKings versus FanDuel — Who are you betting on?

You may have missed Saturday’s XFL semifinal between the Arlington Renegades and Houston Roughnecks. You may be surprised to learn that such teams even exist.

What shouldn’t surprise you: a lot of money changed hands with the Renegades’ upset win.

After all, this decade has seen win after win for the sports-betting industry.

• Online sports gambling is now legal in 33 US states, with more expected to follow.

Sportsbooks generated $5.8B+ in revenue last year, escalating a bookie arms race — and enticing others to get in the game.

In one corner: DraftKings

Nearly half of bettors use DraftKings, per Variety, and the company hopes to widen its lead on the field.

• DraftKings’ latest move is launching its own streaming service.
• This follows partnerships with iHeartMedia and SB Nation, and a spending spree on prominent hosts for its podcast network.

In the other: FanDuel

DraftKings’ moves follow a media blitz from FanDuel, the second-largest sportsbook.

• Last year, FanDuel rebranded cable network TVG — previously dedicated to horse racing — as FanDuel TV.
• This month, it inked another media partner, The Ringer, to expand its original programming.

Hoping to get into the ring

Third-place bookie BetMGM recently expanded its Buffalo Wild Wings partnership.

And as the industry waits for the biggest media chip to fall — ESPN, which hasn’t solidified its betting strategy — another player has emerged.

• Sports merchandise titan Fanatics now wants in, investing $1B to build its own betting division. Fanatics already has 95m customers in place.

The jockeying will only intensify, with sports betting projected to generate $182B by 2030 — a number calculated before every Hustle reader became a rabid, put-their-savings-on-the-line-for-each-game Renegades fan.