DraftKings Gaining OSB Market Share, According to Stifel

Posted on: August 17, 2023, 04:43h. 

Last updated on: August 18, 2023, 12:52h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More

Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

The U.S. sports betting landscape is essentially a duopoly controlled by Flutter Entertainment’s (OTC: PDYPY) FanDuel and DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG), and it appears as though the latter is gaining market share.

In the second edition of Stifel’s “Online Gambling Monthly Tracker,” analyst Jeffrey Stantial says U.S. online sports betting market share continues consolidating among FanDuel and DraftKings, with the latter recently notching small gains.

DraftKings has been the primary winner, with June data showing another step function in handle share (partially offset by unfavorable hold) reflecting the improved product-driven customer retention into MLB season,” wrote the analyst.

Flutter recently told investors that in the first six months of 2023, FanDuel had a 47% share of the regulated internet sports betting market in the U.S. DraftKings is next on that list, and combined, those two operators control about 75% of the U.S. market.

DraftKings, Others Making iGaming Gains

Sports wagering garners more headlines because it’s allowed in far more states than iGaming. But the latter is widely viewed as the more significant future growth driver of the gaming industry.

In that segment, there are signs of deconsolidation, with operators such as Caesars, DraftKings, and FanDuel all pilfering some share from BetMGM.

“On the iCasino front, we’ve talked to recent deconsolidation trends in recent reports with DraftKings, FanDuel, and Caesars (to a lesser extent) taking share, primarily from BetMGM,” added Stantial. “This month, we highlight the first M/M increase in MI market share for BetMGM, following seven consecutive months (~5%) of market share contraction.”

Specific to DraftKings, that company’s 2022 acquisition of Tilman Fertitta’s Golden Nugget Online Gaming (GNOG) positioned it for iGaming success. Today, the operator is a leader in several of the states in which GNOG was operational prior to the transaction.

Near-Term iGaming, OSB Items of Note

Stantial points to several iGaming and sports betting factors investors should watch over the near term.

• 1) the November launch of PENN’s ESPN Bet & associated marketing/promotional campaign.
• 2) Fanatics’ integration and rollout of the acquired Pointsbet platform.
• 3) the launch of a standalone Caesars iCasino app.
• 4) DraftKings’ rollout of in-house priced NFL live SGP this season.
• 5) BetMGM’s integration of Angstrom Sports and related improvements to parlay & in-play product, and
• 6) WynnBet and Fox Bet closures (collectively only LSD-MSD% market share).

Fanatics launched its mobile sports betting Wednesday in four states. For now, promotional spending in the industry is rational. Still, there are concerns that promotional spending could increase with the entry of Fanatics and the looming launch of ESPN Bet by Penn Entertainment.

Stantial observed that increased spending could arrive. But it’s unlikely to mirror the levels in late 2021 and the first half of 2022 that spooked investors.