Different Types of Gambling Are Merging in Order to Expand
The many forms of gambling are rapidly colliding with one another and with media sources, and Wall Street is taking note.
According to Independent data, gambling, Internet gambling, sports betting, and daily fantasy sports are no more discrete silos with distinct audiences: gambling businesses are increasingly merging them and working with media companies to increase gaming’s reach.
Wall Street experts are predicting rapid revenue growth in the United States over the next five to ten years as a result of this development. By 2025, Morgan Stanley predicts a $15 billion sports betting and online gambling business, while Macquarie Research predicts a $30 billion market by 2030.
In a report released, Macquarie wrote, “The once disparate categories of online gambling, media, and sports are joining forces to create powerful partnerships that we believe will grow viewership, increase overall fan engagement, and drive significantly higher market values for all those connected.”
Bally’s and Sinclair Broadcasting; Flutter Entertainment and FOX; PointsBet and NBC; William Hill and CBS; DraftKings and Caesars Entertainment partnering with ESPN; Penn National and Barstool Sports; BetMGM and Yahoo; and Turner Sports’ deals with FanDuel and DraftKings were just a few examples of deals between sports betting and media companies last year.
Combinations like these, according to David Schwartz, a gaming historian at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, “seem to be the trend of the future.”
“With geographic growth virtually complete in the United States – Texas remains the largest untapped market – casino gambling businesses are trying to expand into other kinds of gambling, the most notable of which are online and sports betting,” he added. “Even daily fantasy sports, as seen by recent initiatives by Bally’s and Caesars, is viewed as a realistic option. More content is created for the media partners, and more eyeballs are drawn to their product.”
“Growing these sectors responsibly will be critical to the industry’s future success,” he added.
Morgan Stanley predicted a $15 billion market for sports betting and Internet gambling by 2025, up 27% from current levels, in a study released last week. Sports betting may account for up to $10 billion of total, according to the firm.
Most observers predict that by the end of 2021, at least half of the country will have legalized sports betting, with further expansion after that.
Last year, sports betting and online gambling income in the United States totaled $3.1 billion, well above Morgan Stanley’s projection of $2 billion. While months of casino closures during the coronavirus epidemic likely aided some of the development in online wagering, Morgan Stanley believes these businesses are developing a long-term market.
Morgan Stanley stated, “We see legalized U.S. sports betting and iGaming as a once-in-a-generation change for what was a mature gaming sector.” “It is apparent to us that Americans passion in sports and gambling should result in more income (per) adult than we had anticipated.”