DraftKings and FanDuel Turn Up Heat on Kalshi: ‘Live in All 50 States’

“KalshiEX, LLC advertises itself as ‘the first app for legal sports betting in all 50 states,’” was the first line in the opinion against the company in the Ninth Circuit.

While Kalshi is now avoiding the word bet to describe its product, other apps are competing for sports bettors nationwide. Primarily, DraftKings and FanDuel. Having launched into prediction markets, the two platforms are letting everyone across the US know they can now use their apps.

Campaigns are particularly targeting states with no legal sports betting, such as California, which, for now at least, allows sports prediction markets.

All Gas, No Brakes For DraftKings

DraftKings is the largest spender on marketing in the gambling industry. Last year, it spent $485 million on marketing. This year, it has already splurged $111 million on TV campaigns.

Additionally, the company ran a gameday promotion on September 2, which included giving away free gas in Miami, LA, Dallas, Atlanta, and Detroit.

MASSIVE day at DraftKings… we’re officially live in all 50 states @DKSports is dropping rewards all Gameday long.
• Free gas in 5 different major cities
• Profit boosts across all sports
• More surprises to come pic.twitter.com/udEw70AvAR

— DraftKings (@DraftKings) September 2, 2026

DraftKings said it gave away a total of 32,000 gallons of gas to more than 2,200 cars across the five cities. At around $4 per gallon, the promotion cost the company around $128,000.

It gained some traction online, particularly as DraftKings’ ambassadors pushed content, but some users reported waiting in long lines only to be turned away.

@DraftKings just lined up for your gas giveaway and at 11am being told to come back in 1-2 hours after we’ve already been waiting meanwhile ppl are cutting the line from side streets and not being told to get in line. This isn’t right

— Baldeep Cheema (@BaldeepCheema) September 2, 2026

DraftKings also released a new ad, featuring Kevin Hart and Nick Jonas traveling around the US. “Now that DraftKings is live in all 50 states, we can finally take that road trip we’ve always talked about,” Jonas tells Hart as they drive across the country, wagering on sports.

FanDuel Declares App Is ‘Live Everywhere’

FanDuel is next in TV ad spending this year, coming in at around $57.9 million. Across all marketing, the company spent $462 million last year, just shy of DraftKings, according to a report by 5WPR.

A new ad campaign features an All American Rejects cover of Johnny Cash’s song, “I’ve Been Everywhere” with the tagline, “FanDuel is now available EVERYWHERE!“

FanDuel changed its leadership earlier this year, replacing CEO Amy Howe with Christian Genetski as it struggled to meet expectations. Since then, parent company Flutter also announced that CEO Peter Jackson would be replaced as head of the company by Dan Taylor on October 1.

Winning users across the country this football season is essential to reviving the company’s fortunes. Flutter’s share price is down 65% from this time last year.

Kalshi Spends Big But Changes Ad Language

Kalshi has firmly established itself as the third-largest advertiser in the sports gambling industry. So far this year, it has spent $41.1 million on TV advertising alone.

The company objects to being labeled a sports gambling company and has moved away from advertising its sports betting. The Ninth Circuit, quoting Kalshi’s own advertising in the judgment against the company, is one of many instances in which legal teams have highlighted past ads as proof that its product should be classified as gambling.

Notably, while DraftKings and FanDuel ads say they are live in all 50 states, they stop short of stating that they offer legal sports betting in any of them.

A recent Kalshi ad attempts to distinguish itself from sportsbooks, saying it lets users trade on anything and “unlike sportsbooks, Kalshi doesn’t set the odds, other users do.”

In an interview this week, CEO Tarek Mansour also attempted to distance the company from past ads that claimed it offered sports betting. He said the word betting was used colloquially, but in reality, users are trading, not gambling.

The distinction is something that the Supreme Court may soon rule on. New Jersey has petitioned SCOTUS to hear a case on whether sports prediction markets should be regulated by state gambling laws.

For now, users can trade, bet, gamble, whatever you want to call it, on sports across the country. The battle for where they place those wagers looks set to be a fierce competition.

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