Joe Milton III #19 of the New England Patriots breaks free from pressure from Kyu Blu Kelly #36 of the Washington Commanders during the third quarter of a preseason game at Commanders Field on August 25, 2024 in Landover, Maryland.
Scott Taetsch | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images
Football is back and is expected to bring with it record betting.
American adults will wager $35 billion on this NFL season, according to projections from the American Gaming Association.
According to the AGA, this would represent more than a 30% increase from the $26.7 billion that Americans wagered during last year’s National Football League season, and would set a new record. Since the last NFL season, Maine, North Carolina and Vermont have allowed sports betting operators to launch in their states. And court decisions have allowed Hard Rock International to relaunch sports betting in Florida.
Today, sports betting is active and legal in 38 states and Washington, DC.
And yet, gambling stocks are not following the same growth trajectory. DraftKings, Pennsylvania, Caesars, MGM Resorts and Entertainwho are co-owners of BetMGM, have negative results to date. Flutter, FanDuel owner FanDuel is up 19% after listing on the New York Stock Exchange this year. It posted second-quarter earnings that beat revenue and profit expectations, boosting the stock.
Churchill Hills is positive in the year and Rush Street Interactive It has recorded remarkable gains of 109% year-to-date.
The competition is heating up
Each of the licensed bookmakers is working on strategies to claim a bigger slice of the action, trying to attract new customers and convince established players to show more brand loyalty.
The start of the NFL is an opportunity to launch new and improved technology or innovative bets that attract players. Bookmakers adapt their promotions to reach new customers.
Christian Genetski, president of FanDuel, the nation's leading sportsbook, said: “The NFL season is our biggest buying period of the year.”
FanDuel is the only company to partner with YouTube to launch a “Sunday Ticket” offering. Players who wager $5 get a three-week trial to watch out-of-market NFL games with “Sunday Ticket.” FanDuel hopes that allowing fans to watch their favorite teams will lead to more bets.
FanDuel also said it has tweaked the design of its app and added more bets to its Same Game Parlay. Features have been updated so fans can bet at “the speed of sports,” the company said.
With over 95% of sports betting now taking place online, speed is important. This is especially true when it comes to microbets – bets placed on specific plays as the game unfolds.
Fanatics, Michael Rubin’s e-commerce empire that includes sports merchandise and memorabilia, launched its sportsbook last year in four markets. Fanatics Sportsbook has since acquired PointsBet’s U.S. operations and technology, which is now fully integrated. And its sportsbook is now active in 22 states.
It's a pretty impressive ramp for a newcomer to the industry.
Pavlo Gonchar | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Fanatics Sportsbook builds on Fanatics' existing database of 100 million sports fans to acquire customers year-round and rewards them with products from Fanatics' merchandise and collectibles companies.
And just before the start of the 2024 football season, Fanatics hosted a major fan activation called Fanatics Fest NYC, where customers could meet athletes and celebrities and celebrate their passion for sports.
Fanatics Sportsbook CEO Matt King told CNBC that customer response has been effusive.
“We've seen incredible positive sentiment and resonance with our proposition of being the most rewarding sportsbook, both in terms of the economic value of what we give back and, frankly, the unique things we can do,” King said.
King said the unique rewards for players are based on the crescendo of the sports calendar, which he described as the “sports equinox,” that moment during the fall when nearly all sports are played on overlapping schedules.
New offers
With its shares down 28% this year and its digital business in the red, there is a spotlight and scrutiny on Penn EntertainmentThis is their first full NFL season to feature ESPN Bet, their $2 billion investment in a rebranded sportsbook in partnership with the Disneysports giant owned by a tech giant. It first launched in November of last year, right in the middle of the NFL season.
Since then, the platform has grown its customer database to 31 million members, an 80% increase. Penn leaders are optimistic about its media integration with ESPN.
“People are active on our app, and our goal for the coming quarters is to drive increased loyalty and retention and better monetize the important engagement activity through enhanced products and expanded offerings,” Penn CEO Jay Snowden said on an earnings call Aug. 8.
The ESPN Bet app on a smartphone installed in New York, U.S., Thursday, February 22, 2024.
Gabby Jones | Bloomberg | Getty Images
BetMGM has just launched the first single wallet for mobile gaming in Nevada, where customers can move their accounts from Las Vegas to their home states. Mobile wallets remove the friction of multiple transactions.
“Our players can now immerse themselves in the excitement of MGM Resorts' destinations in Las Vegas or across the state while continuing to seamlessly place bets in other BetMGM markets,” BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt said in a statement.
Tune in: CNBC reveals official 2024 NFL team ratings on Thursday, Sept. 5, on-air and online.
