If Tennessee’s sports betting operation were a horse race, there would be a three-way tie for top market share between BetMGM, DraftKings and FanDuel when it comes to handle. But on the revenue side, BetMGM takes the crown with almost twice the revenue as its two peers.
Each of the three raked in about $70 million in wagers in January, a month populated with the NFL playoffs and regular season games in the NBA, NHL, and NCAA.
From the November 1 start date for Tennessee’s online only sports betting, through January 31, the state collected $9.7 million in tax revenues.
The fourth sportsbook, the lesser known but locally-owned Tennessee Action 24/7, brought in $2.3 million in bets over the three month period, or 1 percent of the market, according to Sports Handle.
Tennessee is one thing, but in the U.S., FanDuel holds the top position, followed by DraftKings. BetMGM CFO Rob Wood hopes his company can make a run at the leaders nationwide.
“We always set out to be a leader with ambitions of getting to No. 1 in due course, but there is no doubt that FanDuel has comfortably got No. 1 sewn up for a while,” he said, adding that BetMGM is closing in on DraftKings, if you remove the daily fantasy sports results.
For the first quarter of Tennessee’s results, FanDuel and DraftKings had a hold rate of 6.95 percent and 6.24 percent, respectively. But the regulations require a 10 percent hold or more, with a fine of $25,000 for failure to maintain the percentage.
The lottery has discussed how often to impose the fine, but without a decision yet.
BetMGM reported a hold percentage of 14.19 while Tennessee Action clocked in at 13.05 for the three month period.
The lottery has granted new licenses to WynnBET Sportsbook, Churchill Downs’ TwinSpires, and William Hill sportsbook. All three hope to launch in time for the NCAA basketball championships.
