US betting market trends: The coming marketing wars
Chris Krafcik and Chris Grove from Eilers & Krejcik Gaming analyse the latest market and policy movements across the regulated US sports betting landscape
The regulated US sports betting market generated handle of $717.3m for the month of May, which was down 1.12% on April’s total of $725.4m.
The slight decline was mainly attributable to seasonal factors. There were fewer NBA games in May than April (when the NBA regular season ended), although the decline in basketball handle was offset by growth in MLB betting, as professional baseball’s regular season completed its first full month.
Total regulated US sports betting handle post-PASPA (June 2018 – May 2019)
In May, as in previous months, Nevada and New Jersey accounted for the lion’s share – or about 88% – of total regulated US sports betting handle. Notably, New Jersey, where online (PC and mobile) sports betting accounted for 82% of total statewide handle in May, generated approximately 44% of total regulated US sports betting handle in May – an all-time high.
We expect the US market as a whole to meaningfully slow during the summer months of June to August, when the sports calendar is far less busy, before rounding back into form during the peak NFL months of September to November.
Coming soon: the marketing wars
We’re expecting an all-out advertising blitz in New Jersey during this year’s NFL season. DraftKings and FanDuel, which casually shelled out $1m on a recent Illinois lobbying campaign, will surely spend aggressively.
But so will some of the state’s retail casino brands, many of which have been relatively tight-fisted so far. Add to that marketing spend from forthcoming brands like bet365 and Unibet, and you’ve got the makings of a battle that could fundamentally reshape the pecking order in New Jersey’s online sports betting market. Who ultimately wins that battle though?
That’s easy: local and national media companies, which will soon be awash with advertising revenue.
To read the article in full, visit EGR North America.
You can also keep up-to-date with all the latest US market data and regulatory news via EGR’s US Sports Betting Tracker.