00:00As football season kicks off, a new battle is brewing in sports betting with traditional sportsbooks facing competition from prediction
00:07markets and new technology.
00:09Joining us now to talk all about it is Adam Greenblatt, CEO of BetMGM.
00:14Adam, thank you so much for joining us.
00:16Thank you for having me. Great to be here.
00:18With the football season now underway, what are you expecting from sports betting activity this season?
00:24Well, we're expecting it to be another great season, certainly for the sportsbooks.
00:30The American Gaming Association has estimated almost $30 billion of regulated handle to be wagered on the NFL during the
00:39season, and we are expecting to compete fiercely for our share of that.
00:45Now, year on year, that's about flat, but that really doesn't take into account the fact that the prediction markets
00:54are taking unregulated revenues alongside the regulated markets.
00:59Right. With those prediction markets gaining momentum, how do you see them changing the sports betting landscape, if you could
01:06talk a little more about that, and do you view them more as competition or an opportunity?
01:10Yes. Well, our position, which we've made clear previously, is that, in essence, prediction markets in sports are sports betting.
01:21And so we see the current offering by those prediction markets operators as, in essence, illegal sports betting, unlicensed sports
01:31betting, and that we are looking forward to that position being formalized at the Supreme Court.
01:40The state of New Jersey has applied for the case to be heard by the Supreme Court.
01:46So we're hoping that by the middle of 27, the situation will be regularized and the sportsbook operators, the online
01:55sportsbook operators like BetMGM will prevail.
01:58Yeah. How have you been seeing the sports betting customer evolve, particularly as more people are getting into live betting
02:06and prop bets?
02:07Well, the point that you make is actually one of the industry features, one of the things that we are
02:12particularly excited about.
02:13In fact, there are two parts to this.
02:15One is the emergence and popularity of live betting.
02:21And this season, BetMGM's live betting offering is better than ever before.
02:27For every NFL game, we have about 500 different things to bet on.
02:31Particularly popular are the touchdown markets.
02:36So touchdown markets, player props, and live betting.
02:40We're bringing something called micro betting to our players this season.
02:45So really, the world of live is the world of entertainment at BetMGM.
02:51The other thing I will say is that BetMGM's strategy is really to serve, super serve our most valuable, higher
02:59value players.
03:01And so the trend, certainly the trend we are seeing is deepening resonance with that population of bettors.
03:08So more higher value players, a concentration of our players around our strategic focus, which are those more valuable bettors.
03:17What are some of the most interesting prop bet trends that you're seeing this football season?
03:22What are they telling you about fans and how they're watching games?
03:28Well, the starting point for all of this is fandom.
03:32You know, our fans love the game.
03:34Our fans love the storylines, love the players.
03:37And really, with such a wide betting offering, what we're doing is giving our fans a way to follow the
03:45stories.
03:47And so what we're seeing is the growing popularity of certain types of wagers, particularly centered around players and player
03:57storylines.
03:57That's really growing.
03:59This continues to grow this season.
04:02With BetMGM, I know you're all making enhancements to the mobile app with a focus on speed.
04:10How important is technology to winning and retaining customers?
04:14Well, the player experience, the product-centric player experience is vital.
04:20On average, our players will play with BetMGM, have active sessions two, three, even four times a week in sports,
04:31sometimes even more in gaming.
04:34Our gaming first offering is really very, very sticky.
04:38But with that kind of repeat activity, with that kind of play pattern, the performance of our product is critical.
04:49It needs to be smooth and fast and intuitive.
04:53And at BetMGM this year, we've made, frankly, in our history, the biggest leap forward in those dimensions.
04:59So when you turn up at BetMGM, this year, the experience is faster.
05:06It's more intuitive.
05:07We've rolled out a lot more bet support features.
05:12So all the information that you need is available in the app.
05:16And we've also introduced some host bet features.
05:20So you can track your bet on the app without being logged in.
05:24We have way more cash-out opportunities.
05:27So if your bet's in the money or, frankly, you've changed your mind, you have more opportunity and flexibility to
05:34change course, even during the life of a bet.
05:37Yeah.
05:38Now, let's talk a little bit about a new commercial campaign that you have starring Jon Hamm.
05:43What does his campaign say about the brand and the BetMGM experience?
05:47Well, we're excited to bring Jon Hamm back.
05:50He's going to do – he's done, actually, four new commercials.
05:53The campaign this year is called It Happens Here.
05:57It's really the next iteration of our Make It Legendary platform.
06:02And the commercials actually take place in a physical lounge that we've built, which we call the BetMGM Legends Lounge.
06:10And we're planning a lot of fun activations in the future to take place in the Legends Lounge.
06:15Really, what we're doing is continuing to position BetMGM as a premium experience.
06:23And having Jon at the face of that is really just terrific.
06:27We're excited for the season for that.
06:29Yeah.
06:29Where do you see the biggest opportunities for BetMGM to grow as the sports betting market continues to evolve?
06:37Well, as we look to the future, we're expecting further growth.
06:41We achieved – even with very challenging year-on-year comps, we achieved 4% headline growth, NGR growth in
06:51the first half.
06:52We've actually seen that growth accelerate, supported by the World Cup, supported by our really successful launch in Alberta.
07:03So, we expect that growth to continue through the season, supported, of course, as we discussed, by our vastly improved
07:10product experience this year.
07:13Yeah.
07:14Now, looking ahead, what do you think sports betting will look like in five years from now?
07:20Goodness.
07:21And for me, five years – at the rate that technology is evolving and the macro environment is evolving, it's
07:31certainly going to be different.
07:33What I expect, what I would love to see is an environment where all market participants are legal and regulated,
07:45where all market participants are paying their way and supporting states and local initiatives, grassroots investment initiatives.
07:55What I would love to see is that the responsible gambling agenda is very, very strongly upheld,
08:01and that we're looking after – we're ensuring that we're – in that context, we're looking after our younger players
08:08and our more vulnerable players.
08:10But what I know for sure is that sports betting and iGaming is part of the entertainment landscape in the
08:16U.S.,
08:17and it will be bigger than it is today.
08:20Absolutely.
08:21A lot to look forward to.
08:23Thank you so much, Adam Greenblatt, CEO of BetMGM.
08:26Thank you so much for joining us today.
08:28Thank you for having me.
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