Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire world faced several losses in all sectors. Every country suffered a significant downfall in their economy. All the sports activities were forced down due to the ongoing pandemic. Even now, when sports are back in action, sports lovers are not permitted to go and enjoy live games.
Many major sports leagues played across the U.S.A. suffered huge losses this year. But despite all the calamities and obstacles, online sports wagering companies have thrived the entire year. Many wagering companies such as Sbobet88 Indonesia have performed exceptionally well to generate good revenue. In May 2018, the U.S.A.’s Supreme Court removed the ban from online sports betting across the country. Since then, all the states across the country are in the race to legalize sports betting, and the operators have thrived in 2020.
Sports betting industry and its leaders
Sports betting companies like DraftKings and FanDuel are in the driver’s seat in the industry. The two industry giants are continuously racing to lead the market by launching their sportsbooks and mobile phone apps. The shares of DraftKings have gone up by 200% in just a few months since it went public.
DraftKings and Fanduel have faced tough competition among each other due to their exceptional efforts in signing betting deals with the pro teams. Each of these deals is a bit different from the other in some ways.
This February, the N.F.L. announced its franchises to ink their casino sponsorships. In the states where sports betting is legal, the league decided to allow teams to build their betting lounges inside the stadiums. The Dallas Cowboys signed a casino sponsorship with Winstar Casino and became the first one to do so. Later in June, FanDuel became the official sports betting partnership with the Denver Broncos, and the Denver Broncos became the first N.F.L. team to sign such a deal. Several other teams started following the trend in all different leagues.
T.V. ads pushed back to 2015
For the audience watching the N.F.L., identifying similar promotional tactics as used back in 2015 was not a tough job. The industry giants started promoting their sports betting products as they used to advertise their fantasy products five years earlier.
Along with these two head-on rivals, the third highlighted name was “BetMGM.” While these three names were highlighted on televisions, William Hill shook the market in August. He launched a pop-up physical sportsbook inside the Capital One Arena in D.C., home to the capitals and wizards. It was the first sportsbook launched inside the U.S. pro sports arena.
The effects of transforming to a publicly-traded company
FanDuel sold itself to an Irish bookmaker in 2018 who renamed their U.S. business Flutter Entertainment. Whereas the DraftKings, listed as a public company on 24th April this year, never turned back. Its shares raised to even more than 200% since the date. In October, DraftKings offered 32 million new shares to raise $1.7B in the pandemic capital.
The next significant impact in the industry will be the digital media and content. Every sports betting operator wishes to be a media company. The betting operators, casinos, and their online sportsbooks will continue to flourish their teams betting deals till next year.
