Sportsbook CEOs expect record betting ahead of NFL kickoff

DraftKings CEO Jason Robins has never been more enthusiastic about the kickoff to the NFL — sports betting’s biggest season.

It’s second only to the Super Bowl in terms of importance for acquiring customers and growing the overall betting pool, Robins told CNBC at the Bank of America Gaming and Lodging Conference.

“The numbers just keep going up right into kickoff, and it’ll continue through Sunday,” Robins said. “We’re seeing big numbers, record numbers, and we’re really excited about what we’re going to see through the start of the season.”

The American Gaming Association estimates legal betting in the U.S. will grow by 8.5% this NFL season, to $30 billion.

DraftKings and its competitors have largely seen declines in the costs to acquire customers even as legal sports betting opportunities continue to expand. Sports betting has proven to be resilient even amid volatility in consumer sentiment and broader concerns over discretionary spending.

“We’re seeing nothing to suggest that there’s any slowdown in the numbers for our business right now, everything is going up,” Robins said.

DraftKings beat Wall Street expectations for revenue and profit when it reported second-quarter results in August, surprising investors with significant growth.

BetMGM, jointly owned by MGM Resorts and Entain is also demonstrating real momentum, raising earnings guidance for a second time this year.

BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt told CNBC that last week was the sportsbook’s best ever in terms of revenue, with pre-season volume up 30%.

“We’re seeing no softness. We’re seeing no reduction in average bet size. We’re seeing no reduction in how many active sessions per week, per month, that players are engaging with BetMGM,” Greenblatt said when assessing the strength of the American consumer.

“I’m delighted to say that our sector seems to be behaving in a contrarian manner, ” he said.

Greenblatt is especially enthusiastic about the cross-selling opportunities with NFL kickoff. He says 60% of sports bettors will then wager on online casino games, or iGaming, which has higher profit margins than sports betting.

The nation’s leading sportsbooks are facing new competition — as well as potential opportunities — in the form of prediction markets events contracts, where odds change based on trades, like stock prices. Events contracts in the financial markets are regulated by the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission.

Front Office Sports reported in July that DraftKings was in talks to buy Railbird, an exchange that received CFTC approval to begin trading.

Robins declined to comment on the report, but said he’s interested, though cautious, about entering predictions markets.

“We’re regulated in a lot of states, and some states have taken a very adversarial position, so we have to obviously be careful and engage the regulator,” Robins said, adding DraftKings is unwilling to risk any threat to its sports betting licenses.

In August, Flutter-owned FanDuel announced a partnership on financial events contracts with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. And Underdog, the fantasy and sports gaming company, announced on CNBC Tuesday that it will partner with Crypto.com to offer sports predictions markets. Robinhood, Kalshi and Polymarket are also offering sports trades.

“Rapidly growing volumes, new product launches, especially around player props and parlays, and more clear direct marketing by prediction markets (post recent fundraising) are all key developments to watch for,” said Bank of America research analyst Shaun Kelly.

Investors will also be watching to see how federal courts rule on the pending question of whether sports predictions are in fact a form of sports betting. States and tribes argue it is and that offering sports trades through predictions markets violates tribes’ sovereign rights or states’ rights to legalize sports gambling.

MGM CEO Bill Hornbuckle told the BofA Gaming and Lodging conference Thursday he doesn’t endorse the predictions markets.

“Our view is that invites the federal government into a space it’s never been, and it’s not a place we’d like to see this marketplace go. Full stop,” he said.

The NFL told its employees they are under the same restrictions with regards to sports predictions markets as they are for betting. The league has said it worries about the integrity of the game in the face of the possibility of price distortion and other kinds of manipulation.