The Super Bowl is valued at $16 billion.

Paul R. La Monica, CNN

As more states legalize sports gambling, Super Bowl LVII is likely to be the biggest event in the history of the industry. The American Gaming Association predicts that more than 50 million people will bet about $16 billion on the National Football League championship game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.

But how will casinos and online/mobile bookmakers stand out in an increasingly crowded market?

Gambling leaders like DraftKings, Flutter Entertainment, owner of FanDuel, MGM, Caesars, and Wynn want to get customers.

High-stakes competition is taking its toll on the stocks of the sports betting giants. All have risen this year as the broader market has rebounded. But many of these stocks are simply bouncing back from previous sharp losses.

DraftKings is down about 30% in the last 12 months and nearly 75% in the last two years. Shares in Caesars and Penn Entertainment, which own stakes in Barstool Sports, have fallen 40% in the past year. Rush Street Interactive, the parent company of BetRivers, has lost nearly 65% ​​in the same time period.

Each of these companies spends a decent amount on flashy advertising campaigns. You can’t miss Jamie Foxx in MGM commercials, Kevin Hart promoting DraftKings, and JB Smoove and the Manning family promoting Caesars during NFL commercial breaks. Companies also allocate a lot of money to promotions such as “free bets”.

Chasing Customers and Trying to Make Wall Street Happy

Sports betting companies will have to do whatever it takes to attract new customers and restore investor confidence.

MGM may have an advantage over the competition. A division of BetMGM, a 50-50 joint venture between the Las Vegas casino giant and British gaming company Entain, has the only physical bookmaker in the Super Bowl. It opened last September in Phoenix and is close to State Farm Stadium, where the Sunday game is played.

Of course, many players will be busy betting on their phones. But Adam Greenblatt, CEO of BetMGM, told CNN that business at the bookmaker should be brisk before and during the game.

“We’ve prepared for this Super Bowl like never before,” Greenblatt said. “We are hiring due to high demand.”

Greenblatt said the 17,000-square-foot bookmaker near State Farm has a giant video wall as well as 38 HD TVs for players to watch the Super Bowl. There are also 25 bookmakers. After all, the goal is to get people to bet on the game.

With competition from DraftKings and FanDuel, as well as other casino companies, Greenblatt said the Super Bowl physical location should be a great marketing opportunity. Sunday’s big goal is also to convince people betting at the bookmaker to download the BetMGM app so they can set up accounts.

Marketing is important, Greenblatt added, because MGM can remind players that it’s an outdated casino brand and not an upstart like DraftKings, FanDuel or Barstool.

“We are fun and sophisticated. Ocean’s Eleven. It was the MGM experience,” he said, referring to the fact that the MGM Grand on the Las Vegas Strip was featured in the 2001 remake of the 1960 heist movie. “We want to be ambitious, but also accessible.”

DraftKings and FanDuel vs Big Vegas Gaming Companies

However, upstarts in the industry don’t worry too much about casino operators.

FanDuel CEO Amy Howe said in an interview with CNN that there is plenty of room for further growth, especially after Ohio, Maryland and Kansas legalized sports betting last year.

“This has to be the biggest day in FanDuel history,” Howe said, adding that the company expects around 17 million bets per game. This is more than double the number of bets placed on last year’s Super Bowl.

Howe said FanDuel also predicts it could have about half a million new customers betting on the game, including more women.

However, DraftKings CEO Jason Robins told CNN he thinks bookmakers understand they can’t go overboard with expensive promotions anymore.

“If anything, the competition is less intense now than it was last year,” Robins said. “Last year was the peak. It was somewhat irrational.”

It’s just no longer wise to seek market share at any cost… and Wall Street has already penalized companies that have done so in the past, including DraftKings.

“Investor tolerance for unruly spending waned during last year’s NFL season,” Robins said. “Investors want to see a path to profitability. This is different from 2021 where customer growth was rewarded.”

That being said, both DraftKings and FanDuel plan to advertise during this year’s Super Bowl. The DraftKings will have another ad with Hart, and FanDuel hired former NFL great Rob Gronkowski, who wasn’t a kicker, to try and make a “kick of fate” field goal on the air. Howe said the video will air in the third quarter.

The-CNN-Wire
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The post is estimated to have a $16 billion bet on the Super Bowl, first appearing on KION546.

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