Part 3: Mobile and more
Part 3: Mobile and more
Finally we weigh the
factors shaping the
market following the
addition of sports betting
to the mix, from the early
dominance of the DFS
giants to mobile and
cross-sell
The DFS head start
It has to be emphasised that it
remains early days for sports betting
in New Jersey and any conclusions
being drawn from the data we have
seen to date are prone to being
overtaken by the pace of events.
For instance, the early leadership
of the daily fantasy sports (DFS)
brands is striking, as is their
combined market share. In hindsight,
this was a predictable outcome
from the first six months or more
of operation. The DFS operators
had enviable customer lists and
both were quick to act to get viable
sports betting products in front of
that audience as quickly as possible.
Paddy Power Betfair can rightfully
claim that it saw this coming. Having
immediately completed its deal for
FanDuel in the wake of the striking
down of PASPA by the Supreme
Court – and as it revealed in its full
year results at the start of March – it
had an eight million-strong customer
base nationally. DraftKings will
doubtless be in the same ballpark.
Translate that to New Jersey, and it
isn’t surprising that DraftKings heads
the market with an estimated 35%-
plus share and FanDuel sits in second
place with – as of January according
to Paddy Power Betfair – a similarly
mid-30s percentage share.
Clearly, this is about more
than simply turning up. But the
advantage is clear and it was
hammered home by Catena Media,
the undoubted king of affiliate
marketing in New Jersey with itself
an enviable market share of media
covering in the state. It was, and
remains, in a good position to clean
up should the affiliate space work as
it does in other markets.
Yet, in its full year results the
Stockholm-listed firm hinted at the
extent to which the DFS operators
were able to simply re-ignite their
customer lists when it mentioned
that despite its dominant position, it
only accounted for around 5% of new
depositing customers in New Jersey.
As it said, its share of affiliation is
likely to increase up to “normal levels
over time” as additional operators
join and the DFS operators’
database conversion rate reduces.
“Obviously, it’s a relatively
new market and the dominance
of FanDuel and DraftKings was
unexpected – they are cleaning up
(with) their databases,” says Neale
Deeley, vice president for sales in the
US at Sportradar.
As he points out, and as was
noted earlier, many potential big
names are yet to truly test the
waters with companies such as
the MGM/GVC Interactive venture
foremost among those that appear
to be shy of entering the pool.
“People drawing conclusions
on New Jersey so early are likely
drawing the wrong conclusions,” he
says. “Something like 30% market
share to DraftKings is likely not long-
New Jersey: data and lessons from the first five years of the US’ leading digital market
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