00:00Let's get right to it here. I mean obviously a good year. I think we're up about 33 percent on sales here and you're actually predicting a relatively strong Super Bowl.
00:08Give me a sense here of what you're seeing right now in terms of activity getting that given that it's already Thursday.
00:13And I think a lot of people like most people at least probably already started to make their bets.
00:19The Super Bowl is is our peak moment of the year for sports for our sector.
00:26And that and BetMGM is no exception to that. And for us, it's going to cap off what has been an incredible season.
00:33We're expecting over a billion seven of wagered well in the legal market to be wagered on the Super Bowl.
00:40That represents about 10 percent up from last year.
00:44That will be pretty similar to what we experienced during the conference finals, the conference championships.
00:51Our product is better than ever. You know, bettors will have an opportunity to choose one of over eleven hundred ways to bet the game.
01:00As ever, the majority of volume we see on the six pack, which is money line spreads and totals.
01:07But the money is 65 percent of the money is on the Seahawks now.
01:11In fact, one lucky BetMGM better has the Seahawks. You put fifty thousand dollars on to win three million dollars.
01:20Yeah, I am curious, though, too. I mean, there's a lot of competition in this space, Adam.
01:23You know that. I mean, I can go to BetMGM. I can go to DraftKings, FanDuel, a bunch of others.
01:28I can go straight to other traditional sports books here.
01:31I mean, how are you standing out?
01:33Because are you keeping up the marketing spend in order to sort of keep that brand awareness?
01:37We we've been much more refined in twenty twenty five and much more selective in how we apply our marketing dollars.
01:45We feel our right to win is with the premium player.
01:49We offer our bet as a premium experience.
01:52And of course, our relationship with MGM Resorts is a key differentiator.
01:57One of the cornerstones of our strategy is this concept of omnichannel where we bring our digital players into a real life experience.
02:05And frankly, this Super Bowl is where we've got a number of VIP parties around the country at obviously BetMGM Sportsbooks, but also at MGM properties.
02:15And so we're really looking after our best players in a physical world.
02:19And that connects that digital and retail experience.
02:22Adam, I have to ask directly about prediction markets when it comes to the competitive landscape.
02:28Overall, prediction markets seems to be as, you know, a space taking over everything, which is only slightly an exaggeration.
02:36How do you make sure that prediction markets don't come in and sort of eat your lunch here?
02:41Look, I want to be clear about our position on this.
02:44And really, we, like our state regulators, now 40 attorneys general, all of our tribal gaming partners, we have serious concerns about sports prediction markets.
03:00Not all prediction markets, but sports prediction markets, and how the sports prediction markets operators are seeking to circumvent the in-state regulatory frameworks designed to protect sports consumers and athletes.
03:16You know, the availability of nationwide sports events contracts basically undermines the regulated framework that has been built and refined over a number of years.
03:26And the sports prediction operators, they're paying no state taxes, they're offering no consumer protections, there are no penalties for underage, there are no self-exclusion lists, you know, whereby regulated operators protect those bettors and players who choose to sit out.
03:46There are no measures to protect game integrity.
03:48How much have we read about that over the last few weeks?
03:51Right.
03:51We, the regulated operators, have active monitoring requirements, obligations.
03:57We monitor betting patterns, we have whistleblowing obligations.
04:00So if we see something, we say something.
04:03There is no opportunity for this activity to continue in the future if every bet happens in the regulated world.
04:11I hear what you're saying, Adam, but still, it seems like that is where the puck is going.
04:15If you take a look at some of your competitors, you think about DraftKings, for example, FanDuel, they've unveiled their own prediction markets.
04:22I know that, you know, where you stand on this is that that's not something you would participate in until the legal situation is clarified.
04:29But do you have any sort of timeline on that, any sort of expectation?
04:34And do you worry about falling behind here?
04:36Look, ultimately, I feel like, actually, this moment in time we're experiencing is an opportunity for the legal and regulated sector.
04:48Because what we're seeing is market stimulus.
04:51Really, the big spend and the high profile of the sports prediction activities, market activities, is stimulating interest in the category.
05:02And, you know, all of the, thus far, all of the legal determinations have been in the favor of the regulated sports betting operators and state rights.
05:14And so, you know, our position is clear.
05:16And as you rightly say, this is going to be determined in the courts.
05:19And I fully expect that the volume, that the volume growth we are seeing will flow back to those that are, will continue, are and continue to be regulated.
05:29But you have confidence, and certainly here in the U.S., and I'm talking more in the short term, as in over the next couple of years, given the current federal administration we have.
05:37And I know a lot of this is going to be determined by some of the state courts.
05:40But the general consensus, at least on Wall Street, is the idea is that the regulatory environment will be more favorable to Calci and some of the competitors in the prediction market.
05:51You don't believe that?
05:52So, look, make no mistake, I have no philosophical objection against prediction markets.
06:00I think there's, you know, outside of the world of sports betting, which is gambling, you know, sports prediction markets on financial products and other things, frankly, is outside of the domain of this conversation.
06:16What I'm asserting is that we have a really thoughtful regulatory framework to protect the interests, as I say, of sports, of consumers that is there for a reason.
06:29So you've had no concern, though, just from a business perspective.
06:32Now, I'm not talking about the moral argument, even the regulatory argument, but the idea of losing potential customers that would have gone to bet MGM that they might instead be going to some of those prediction market providers.
06:43This is an important and current conversation, right?
06:47What we are seeing is we see no material adverse impact from sports prediction markets in our regulated sports states.
06:55You know, we, as I said, we saw 10 percent growth.
06:56What about in the non-regulated sports states?
06:59Well, that we don't have visibility of.
07:01You know, in the non-regulated states, frankly, those states have chosen not to adopt sports betting.
07:09And so what we're seeing is sports betting is being offered to residents of states who have very deliberately said not right now.
07:18And so, you know, back to the I don't even want to comment on that moral argument there.
07:25But from, you know, the reality is our business is players are telling us that they are choosing bet MGM and continue to choose bet MGM because of the product experience superiority, the direct relationship that they have with us and the wonderful service that we offer our players that, frankly, an exchange does not have that kind of relationship with its players.
Comments