Sizing Up Barstool, BetMGM And DraftKings After April Sports Betting, iGaming Figures

Many of the states with legalized online sports betting have reported April figures. Bank of America analyst Shaun C. Kelley breaks down the keys from April and which companies are winning and losing.

April Sports Betting/iGaming Takeaways: Online sports betting was up 1,174% year over year for the states that have reported. Sports betting handle was down 19% in April versus the month of March, which had the return of the NCAA March Madness Tournament.

“Neither metric is a perfect gauge of health,” Kelley wrote in a note.

The year-over-year figure is up against a limited sports calendar in the prior year. The monthly figure is similar to a 15% month-over-month decline seen by the more mature New Jersey market last year in April.

“We expect OSB numbers to be less meaningful until football season begins and competition heats up," he said.

iGaming GGR was up 142% year over year and down 4% month over month in April. The key takeaway for Kelley here was that the three most important states of New Jersey, Michigan and Pennsylvania all had their second-best iGaming months ever in April.

The reopening of the U.S. is an “interesting test case” for the iGaming market for the durability of offline casino to online casino games.

Related Link: Why Michigan Is The Most Exciting State For Online Sports Gambling

Winners and Losers: One of the companies that have seen market declines for online sports betting is Penn National Gaming PENN and its Barstool Sportsbook brand. Barstool saw a gain in market share in Pennsylvania and a decline in Michigan for the month of April. Barstool Sportsbook debuted in Illinois and took an 8% market share.

“We think Barstool’s loyal audience will be a key benefit heading into the hyper-competitive football season,” Kelley said.

BetMGM, a joint venture from MGM Resorts International MGM, had slowdowns for online sports betting market share in New Jersey in Michigan. The company did see gains for its iGaming segment hitting a new market share high of 39% in Michigan.

“We expect BetMGM could take relative share over the coming months for iGaming given its lower cross-sell dependence than the DFS brands.”

DraftKings Inc DKNG holds a top market share position in almost all of its markets. Kelley points to a risk coming with Illinois ending its in-person registration requirements. DraftKings’ iGaming strength is a key item for Kelley moving forward.