Two sports betting giants, DraftKings and Bally’s Corp., announced job cuts last week, with DraftKings laying off 3.5 percent and Bally’s dropping 15 percent of its work force.
Truist Securities analyst Barry Jonas, quoted by CDC Gaming, declared, “While unfortunate, we see these moves as a necessary positive to reach sustainable economic levels before both divisions turn profitable.”
The growth of sports betting in the U.S. may have leveled off. CDC reported that in December, “Gross gaming revenue derived from sports betting fell 13 percent to $798 million, reflecting an eight percent hold.”
Wall Street Market analysts disagree as to whether handle is the appropriate way to measure market performance in Online Sports Betting (OSB), but Jonas is bullish on its utility. By this measure, FanDuel leads with 39 percent, compared to 31 percent for DraftKings, 10 percent and 9 percent for BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook.
New York state had the highest sports betting handle for December, with $1.6 billion, followed by New Jersey at $1 billion and Nevada at $788 million.
Promotional spending has peaked and started to decline in advertising by sports betting companies wanting to increase market share. Promotional spending was at its highest in December and has declined since then. Much of that was money that went into players’ pockets.
