Part 3: Mobile and more
The omni-channel
approach taken by
most operators is also
seeing sports action
“migrate to online
and even land-based
casinos.
Richard Carter, SBTech
European players, many US players
are accustomed to playing at
unregulated sites since sports
betting has not previously been legal
in the US. “This creates a challenge
to balance in delivering experiences
familiar to US players (i.e. how odds
are presented) while at the same
time, trying to introduce innovations
and advanced features, such as
sophisticated in-game betting
markets not commonly used in the
past by US customers.”
Meltzer at Kambi adds that the
higher level of staking seen on the
part of US consumers to date is likely
down to a greater percentage of pre-
match compared with in-play. But he
added that prop betting is in the rise.
Meanwhile, pointing to the
company’s own findings on other
sports being bet on, he also adds
that Oscars betting was more than
just a PR message. “We’ve seen
encouraging interest in sports such
as darts, snooker and cricket, while
the recent Oscars also saw a fair
amount of action,” he says. “So while
US sports are important, operators
need to have a strong offering right
down the sportsbook menu.”
Profitability to follow – but
not quickly
For all the positivity about New
Jersey, the question of how
profitable it will be is somewhat
less clear right now. Despite Paddy
Power Betfair having an enviable
position within the US market as a
whole, and New Jersey in particular
via its FanDuel acquisition in the
immediate aftermath of the striking
down of PASPA by the Supreme
Court, the company said during its
interims that profitability would be a
story for another year.
A similar tone was apparent from
the William Hill results, where the
company spoke of the expanded
US opportunity as akin to investing
in a start-up. While the existing US
business – mainly Nevada – made
an adjusted operating profit of
£32.6m in 2018, what it terms as
the expansion business made an
adjusted operating loss of £43.7m.
The company said the decision
by the Supreme Court meant the
company had “moved quickly to
capitalise… by investing in a digital
launch in New Jersey and land-
based expansion in six states”.
Delivering familiar experiences while also
introducing innovations and advanced features,
such as sophisticated in-game markets not
commonly used in the US, is a challenge.
Richard Schwartz, Rush Street Interactive
New Jersey: data and lessons from the first five years of the US’ leading digital market
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