Wall Street analysts are sticking with on-line sports activities betting platforms DraftKings and Flutter Entertainment , the proprietor of FanDuel, ahead of the beginning of the NFL season on Thursday. The American soccer season is anticipated to see an increase in shopper sports activities betting, mentioned Needham Research analyst Bernie McTernan, noting that 71% of the agency’s preseason survey respondents plan on putting some sort of wager by means of a regulated sportsbook. That’s up from the 60% who mentioned they positioned a wager final 12 months. Analysts largely agree on their top picks within the sector: DraftKings and Flutter. Both stocks are both buy- or overweight-rated at Macquarie, Stifel, JPMorgan and Needham Research. Thus far, each DraftKings and FanDuel are providing related buyer promotions in comparison with final season, McTernan mentioned, though he famous that incentives from personal firm Fanatics are essentially the most aggressive within the group ahead of the 2025 season. “[We] view DKNG/FLUT as best positioned for near-term upside from favorable NFL game outcomes, higher structural hold, and general OSB/iGaming growth momentum in 4Q,” Macquarie analyst Chad Beynon mentioned in a word final month. DraftKings inventory has climbed greater than 28% in 2025, whereas Flutter Entertainment is up about 14%. DKNG YTD mountain DraftKings inventory has gained greater than 28% thus far in 2025. “Our investing framework for the group remains the same. Long-term, we prefer DKNG/FLUT given compounding scale benefits and sustained rational competition, followed by omnichannel operators with iCasino-led strategies and NGR share momentum,” Stifel analyst Jeffrey Stantial mentioned in a word earlier this week, referring to internet gaming income. “Tactically, however, we position cautiously into NFL given buyside expectations for handle re-acceleration and potential downside risks, ongoing modest market share deconsolidation, and residual regulatory risks.” Both stocks noticed marginal positive aspects within the days that adopted the opening of the 2024 season, information compiled by Macquarie confirmed. DraftKings inventory superior about 2% within the opening week of the 2024 season, whereas Flutter rose 1%. Both corporations are among the many largest publicly traded gambling stocks. DraftKings has a market capitalization of greater than $23 billion, in comparison with about $52 billion for Flutter Entertainment. “Heading into the start of the key NFL season, we review recent market trends, marketing and promotions across players,” Morgan Stanley analyst Stephen Grambling mentioned in a late August report. “As a reminder, the period surrounding the start of NFL has been a consistent window of outperformance from [online sports betting] stocks (FLUT/DKNG ~450bps vs. the S & P 500 over the past 4 years and 2025 is on pace for ~500bps) but this has historically given way to underperformance in the subsequent month.” FLUT YTD mountain Flutter Entertainment inventory has notched a roughly 14% acquire thus far this 12 months. Several analysts additionally pointed to how any of the businesses’ strikes into prediction markets might affect their future progress. “We think large OSB operators would be well-positioned to gain outsized sports prediction market share due to their superior [user interface/user experience], product/tech, brand awareness, and database targeting/marketing prowess,” JPMorgan analyst Daniel Politzer wrote in a Tuesday word. “Our base case assumes OSB operators move slowly/take a wait-and-see approach (neutral impact).” McTernan mentioned prediction markets appear to be “supplemental platforms,” though he additionally mentioned folks that reported use of futures betting platforms are anticipated to be extra frequent betters general. “The most frequently cited responses for why a respondent used a prediction market instead of a regulated sportsbook were simpler platform, easier/better cash out and better odds,” McTernan mentioned.