DraftKings Drops BDO for Deloitte Four Months After Shareholder Ratification
Auditor Transition
Company Background
DraftKings is a Boston-based digital sports betting and gaming company with operations across 30 states and several Canadian provinces. Its product suite spans online sportsbook, iGaming, daily fantasy, a lottery courier app, and the recently launched DraftKings Predictions platform — a federally regulated event-contracts product. The company carries an approximate market capitalization of $10.6 billion.
Financially, DraftKings only crossed into annual profitability for the first time in fiscal year 2025, posting net income of $3.7 million on revenue of $6.05 billion — a 27% year-over-year increase. The trajectory turned choppier in 2026: Q1 revenue grew 17% to $1.65 billion with net income of $21.1 million, but Q2 revenue fell 5% year-over-year to $1.44 billion on a net loss of $67.6 million, driven by customer-friendly sport outcomes and promotional spending tied to the Predictions launch. Management has maintained full-year 2026 guidance of $6.5–$6.9 billion in revenue and $700–$900 million in Adjusted EBITDA.
In August 2026, DraftKings closed a $700 million senior secured term loan B due 2033 and replaced its existing $500 million revolving credit facility with a new $750 million facility due 2031. Proceeds from the term loan are intended partly for repurchases of outstanding convertible notes due 2028.
What Was Disclosed
The audit committee of DraftKings' board dismissed BDO USA, P.C. on September 23, 2026, effective immediately after the conclusion of BDO's audit of the company's fiscal year 2026 financial statements and the filing of the 2026 Annual Report on Form 10-K. Simultaneously, the committee appointed Deloitte & Touche LLP as auditor for fiscal year 2027 and related interim periods, subject to completion of Deloitte's client acceptance procedures; an engagement letter was executed on September 25, 2026. The committee cited the completion of an evaluation process as the basis for both actions.
No disagreements or reportable events were disclosed. BDO's audit reports on the company's fiscal years 2024 and 2025 financial statements contained no adverse opinions, disclaimers, or qualifications of any kind. The filing also states that during fiscal years 2024 and 2025 and through September 23, 2026, neither DraftKings nor anyone on its behalf consulted Deloitte on the application of accounting principles to any specific transaction, the type of opinion Deloitte might render, or any matter that was the subject of a disagreement or reportable event. BDO confirmed it agrees with the company's characterizations in a letter dated September 25, 2026, filed as Exhibit 16.1.
Why It Matters
The compressed timeline is the central fact. Shareholders voted to ratify BDO for fiscal year 2026 at the May 12, 2026 annual meeting — more than 4.33 billion votes in favor against roughly 1.6 million opposed — and the committee dismissed BDO fewer than four and a half months later. The committee's own language, "upon the completion of an evaluation process,