The new season of the NFL (National Football League) raises great expectations for growth in sports betting in the United States.
Forecasts indicate that adults should bet around 35 billion dollars, exceeding the 26.7 billion from the previous season by 30%, according to the American Gaming Association (AGA).
Bookmakers’ performance with the NFL
Since the last championship, states like Maine, North Carolina and Vermont have legalized sports betting. This brings to 38 the number of states where the practice is authorized.
However, the shares of some companies in this sector do not follow the same trajectory as the bets. Bookmaker shares that fell this year:
- DraftKings
- Penn
- Caesars
- MGM Resorts
- Entain, which operates BetMGM
On the other hand, Flutter, owner of FanDuel, recorded a 19% increase in its shares after a solid financial performance in the second quarter. Churchill Downs, a horse racing company, also reported positive results.
Furthermore, Rush Street Interactive saw a remarkable 109% increase in its shares. Competition between bookmakers is intensifying; each company seeks strategies to capture a larger share of the market.
New season with new promotions and technologies
The start of the NFL season is seen as a crucial opportunity to launch new technologies and innovative bets. Christian Genetski, president of FanDuel, noted that this is the busiest time of the year for customers.
The company has just partnered with YouTube to offer a “Sunday Ticket”. This initiative allows players who spend $5 to watch NFL games for three weeks.
Additionally, FanDuel has improved its app and expanded betting options in the Same Game Parlay feature. This allows fans to bet “at the speed of sports”.
With more than 95% of bets online, agility has become a decisive factor, especially for real-time bets during matches. Meanwhile, DraftKings announced that the NFL is its most popular league in terms of betting volume.
Therefore, the company is offering a new bet called “No Touchdown”. This allows people to bet on whether a star player will not score a touchdown this season.
This is the first full year Penn has launched ESPN Bet. This US$2 billion investment was made in partnership with Disney. So, since its launch, the platform has 31 million members, an increase of 80%. Penn CEO Jay Snowden expressed optimism about the media integration with ESPN.
Recently, BetMGM allowed customers to transfer their accounts from Las Vegas to other states. Adam Greenblatt, CEO of BetMGM, emphasized that this innovation improves the player experience, providing a smooth transition between different markets.
