Matthew Kalish on customer trust
From Draft Kings: Blockchain, Sports & Digital Collectibles Feat. Matt Kalish (CoFounder & President) · · Blockchain Won't Save The World
“We feel much more comfortable keeping it in the ecosystem because DraftKings is trusted. We have three and a half billion of revenue in our other products like sports betting and and whatever. And a lot of the rain makers players are initially they come in on something like sports betting or daily fantasy and then adopt rain makers as like a additional thing they're doing, you know. So some people come in just for the game, but also a lot of what you'd call like crossell or a lot of people joining like a second activity on the site. And so the idea of like disappointing or undermining the relationship that we have with customers who are like using us for a bunch of stuff really like not not an option. So rather just have less sales, have less revenue, have rain makers do worse and maintain trust than ever take any like reputational risk.”
On , Matthew Kalish, Co-Founder, President of DraftKings North America & Director at DraftKings, spoke about customer trust during Draft Kings: Blockchain, Sports & Digital Collectibles Feat. Matt Kalish (CoFounder & President) on Blockchain Won't Save The World.
About Matthew Kalish
Matthew Kalish, co-founder of DraftKings, stated in a May 2026 interview that he left the company in November 2024. He has since been publicly critical of the prediction market platform Kalshi, describing its marketing as "gaslighting customers" and "lying." Kalish argued that Kalshi presents itself as a platform where casual users can compete against Wall Street, but he characterized it as a "Wall Street product" that misleads consumers about its liquidity and pricing. He also recounted a personal experience of attempting to place a $10,000 bet on Kalshi and receiving a poor price, which he said prompted his criticism. In other appearances, Kalish discussed his involvement with FaZe Clan, describing it as a "talent charity" that was losing money on housing and production. He stated that the current meta for content creators favors independence over being part of an organization. Earlier, in an August 2023 interview while still at DraftKings, Kalish discussed the company's expansion into web3 and NFTs through the DraftKings Marketplace and Reignmakers fantasy sports, noting that the company's regulated status and customer trust were advantages in that space. He also advised that it was a good time to build a business with patience and a long-term intention, given reduced competition.