The hedge fund manager, who gained notoriety for his pessimistic wager on Enron Corp., stated that even though he had previously shorted DraftKings Inc. in May 2021, he had revised his negative opinion regarding online sports betting. In July of last year, he closed his short position and booked a $10 million profit.
He told the Financial Times, “The betting numbers have continued to be strong in the US, stronger than we thought they’d be.” “What bad betters the US gamblers are is something we underestimated, and I think that will be a benefit for all these companies for a while anyway.”
He claimed to have seen an increase in riskier wagers during the 2022–2023 National Football League season, which allows operators to increase their profit margins.
It’s become a stronger company than we imagined it would be, and we saw that throughout last year’s football season, which is why we covered our short,” he told the newspaper, citing the fact that such wagers have “very bad-odds bets for [gamblers].”
Last month, Chanos said that, due to pressure on the hedge fund’s business model and a reduction in interest in fundamental stock pickers, he will close the fund after nearly 40 years.