Sports Betting
Smaller U.S. online gaming operators are starting to see sustained profitability
Zach Wolpin is an NBA and NFL expert who's been betting on the league for over three years now. Wolpin is a fan of the NFL and NBA and has been watching for a decade and a half. He covers the latest news and stories surrounding the league daily. His passion in life is sports and being able to share that through his writing. He has written about the NBA and other sports leagues through various media outlets over the years like Sir Charles In Charge, G-Men HQ, and TAP into South Plainfield. Before he became a Sports Editor, Wolpin attended Montclair State University where he graduated in 2021. He studied Sports Media and Writing while in school.
Get to know Zach Wolpin betterPublished3 hours ago on November 01, 2024
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the ban on sports betting in 2018, operators have been working to make a profit. That’s easier said than done for certain sportsbooks in the United States. Operators like DraftKings and FanDuel have been continuously growing since 2018. They are the top two sportsbooks in the U.S. Despite years of losses, smaller sportsbooks in America are starting to profit.
During Q3 of 2024, the parent companies of Caesars Sportsbook, BetMGM, and BetRivers reported positive net incomes. These smaller sportsbooks trail in total revenue and market share but they are finally starting to see regular profit. They do this without having the extreme investment costs of DraftKings and FanDuel.
How profitable have Caesars, BetMGM, and BetRivers been in 2024?
Caesars Sportsbook has received scrutiny around the industry for the hundreds of millions. They bought the William Hill U.S. tech platform, high-profile advertising campaigns, and exorbitant free bets. Despite their efforts, Caesars was unable to crack the top three in national market share. For the first nine months of 2024, Caesars Digital generated $97 million in adjusted EBITDA. Additionally, the operator generated $9 million in adjusted EBITDA in 2023.
In Q3 of 2024, Caesars Digital generated $303 million in net revenues. That was up from the $215 million they saw in Q3 of 2023. Their digital gaming division saw their revenue grow from $669 million in 2023 to $861 million in 2024. Caesars saw a 28.7% year-over-year growth in their digital gaming revenue for Q3.
Rush Street Interactive is the parent company of BetRivers. During Q3 of 2024, they generated $232 million, a 375 year-over-year increase. BetRivers’ net income in Q3 was $3.2 million against a loss of $13.4 million in Q3 of 2023. Adjusted EBITDA for BetRivers improved from $4.1 million in 2023 to $23.4 million in 2024.
BetMGM was the only online operator to report a year-over-year decline in net revenue in Q3 of 2024. It dropped from $12.6 million to $3.3 million. However, this is by design of MGM as they are using 2024 and 2025 as “investment years.”
