Dustin Gouker

Editor and analyst

Dustin Gouker is the head of content for a network of sites that includes PlayUSA, PlayNJ, PlayPennsylvania and Legal Sports Report. For PlayUSA, he’s an occasional editor and writer who also provides analysis both for the site and externally.

He’s covered the daily fantasy sports, sports betting and online casino/poker industries since 2015, and is considered one of the leading US analysts and resources on these burgeoning industries. He helped lead the coverage of the growth of FanDuel and DraftKings in the US, and also was on hand for oral arguments before the US Supreme Court struck down the federal ban on sports betting.

Gouker has been a journalist and editor for more than 20 years, including a stop at The Washington Post. He’s based in Oregon, is married and has a daughter.

Media appearances and citations

  • USA Today | The big bet: Sports gambling has leagues, networks and books desperate for a piece of your action
    • “While bettors won’t make a lot of money in the long term, gambling is a sustainable system if it’s done right,” says Dustin Gouker, an industry analyst for Play USA, a network that monitors the gaming industry in all 50 states. “There’s room for growth – and it will be sustainable for everybody around.”
  • Morningstar | 2021 March Madness will be the first sporting event to reach $1 billion in legal wagering, analyst says
    • “The Super Bowl draws the most bets for a single game, but March Madness and its 60+ games should more than double what the Super Bowl draws,” said Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for PlayUSA.com (link). “But the dramatic expansion of legal markets, as well as the exponential growth within each market, means more people will have an opportunity to bet on the NCAA Tournament than ever before. And that will produce an eye-popping handle number that could reach $1.5 billion.”
  • Westword | Think There Won’t Be Anything to Wager on May 1? Want to Bet?
    • “If I were doing it, I wouldn’t launch sports betting into the void of sports,” says Dustin Gouker, a sports-betting analyst for PlayUSA.com. “I just don’t know how compelling that is. It seems anti-climactic.”
  • The Telegraph | Opponents unhappy with Pritzker’s online wager action
    • “The state’s sports betting market has boomed since last summer, and that has largely been because of the decision to remove in-person registration requirements,” said Gouker. “Reversing that now essentially puts the brakes on that growth, and will artificially suppress online gaming in Illinois for as long as it is in place.”

Video appearances

https://youtube.com/watch?v=YH1Y-FiFYjw%3Fenablejsapi%3D1%26origin%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.playusa.com

https://youtube.com/watch?v=_mjRTCGSwko%3Fenablejsapi%3D1%26origin%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.playusa.com

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