CLEVELAND, Ohio – One of the biggest players in the sports betting business in Ohio, and nationally, late Thursday announced a $750 million deal that could grow its business.

DraftKings Inc. announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Jackpocket, a leading lottery app.

The proposed transaction, according to the announcement, will enable DraftKings to access and grow into the lottery industry, but also strengthen its position in sports gaming.

“We are very excited to enter the rapidly growing U.S. digital lottery vertical with our acquisition of Jackpocket,” said Jason Robins, co-founder and CEO of DraftKings.

“This transaction will create significant value for DraftKings not only by giving our customers another differentiated product to enjoy but also by improving our overall marketing efficiency similar to how our daily fantasy sports database created an advantage for DraftKings in OSB and iGaming.”

The agreement has been approved by the boards of both DraftKings and Jackpocket, the news release said.

Jackpocket describes itself as the first licensed third-party lottery app in the United States, operating in several states, including Ohio and neighboring West Virginia.

Sports wagering was legalized in Ohio, starting on Jan. 1, 2023. In the first year, the two biggest operations accounted for 68% of the wagers. FanDuel, the state’s leading betting app by wagers, took in $2.7 billion of bets. DraftKings took in $2.5 billion of bets.

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