LegalSportsBetting Brief: States, Sportsbooks Show Financial Growth 11/17/2020

• DraftKings and Flutter (FanDuel) both did surprisingly well as can be seen with the release of their Q3 reports.
• Illinois, Indiana, and Washington DC all saw growth in their monthly sports betting revenue numbers, showing the NFL making a big impact on gambling activity.
• The Virginia Lottery received 25 applications with only 12 sportsbook operator licenses to give out by the beginning of 2021.
• fuboTV will join other sports networks in the field of sports gambling with their announcement to add betting lines and other sports betting material to their broadcasts.

BOSTON – The world of legal sports betting in the US was aflutter with all kinds of news occurring this past week.

DraftKings and FanDuel, the top two leading sportsbooks in the country, released their Q3 financial reports while Illinois, Indiana, and Washington, DC released their monthly revenue reports.

In other parts of the nation, the Virginia Lottery was flooded with sports betting operator applications but the Commonwealth is capped at a 12-license allowance by law.

And fans of FuboTV will soon see betting lines for sporting events incorporated into broadcasts as the network announced its plans to become a part of the industry.

Q3 Financial Reports Released For DraftKings and Flutter (FanDuel)

In Q3, Flutter (FanDuel’s parent company) gained over 450,000 new members to their sportsbooks. The company is expected to show over $1.1 billion in GGR by the end of the year as well as $850+ million in NGR.

DraftKings showed huge monetary gains within their Q3 reports with $133 million being made in revenue, ousting their 2019 revenue numbers which landed at $67 million.

The company equates this 98% growth from year-over-year third-quarter findings to the expansion of legal sports betting across the US and the comeback of sports from the hiatus caused by COVID-19.

Show Me The Money: Illinois, Indiana, Washington DC Sports Betting Revenue Reports

Illinois had a banner month for handle and revenue in September coming from the gambling on sports industry with over $285 million bet on the games.

Three months since the launch of legal sportsbooks, Illinois has seen $3 million in revenue from sports betting with projections of a seasoned market bringing in more than $100 million in GGR annually.

The Hoosier State had $230,932,251 in handle for sports betting in the month of October. Revenue from the industry sat at $21,098,460 for the month. Exactly 83.6% of all bets placed were done using mobile or internet sportsbooks.

The additional sports wagering tax held $2,004,354. There was a spike in activity with an influx of sports bettors in Indiana gambling on the Indianapolis Colts games.

October in Washington, DC had record highs for betting on sports matchups. William Hill Sportsbook at Capital One Arena took 144,882 bets for a total of $14,358,601.75 in their handle contribution to the District. Revenue from William Hill was $2,717,767.60 with a tax gain of $271,776.76. The other sportsbook in DC, GambetDC, had $4.2 million in handle with $882,101 in GGR for the District in October.

VA Lottery Has Some Hard Choices To Make For Potential Sportsbook Operators

In October, the Virginia Lottery held a 16-day window for all interested sportsbook operators to apply for a license to open up their business in the Commonwealth. They received 25 applications in that window with only 12 licenses up for grabs.

The lottery will be going over each application thoroughly and will approve applicants with the best record to produce revenue and employment for the economy of Virginia.

No names for operators have been released but DraftKings and FanDuel are two companies that are rumored to be seeking licensure. Per lottery officials, Virginia should have licensed sports wagering operators by the beginning of 2021.

FuboTV Announces Their Entry Into The Sports Betting Industry

FuboTV will join a number of other networks dipping their toe into sports betting with the announcement that they will be adding sports wagering data to their live broadcasts.

They tried it out in October very minimally with great results, leading them to the decision to fully immerse themselves in the industry. Fox Sports, ESPN, and SportsGrid have all taken the plunge and began to add betting lines as well as gambling on sports-centric programming to their network lineups.

Now, fuboTV will begin to slowly get in on this trend as sports betting in the United States becomes more and more accepted and has increased viewership by all channels that have embraced it.

Looking At The Week Ahead

Ohio will have a hearing for the third reading of Senate Bill 111 on Wednesday.

This will be the final reading of the bill that could legalize sports betting in the Buckeye State. With COVID-19 causing financial issues nationwide, OH SB 111 could move forward toward passage as it would bring in a new stream of revenue to the economy of Ohio.

Colorado, Iowa, Nevada, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania all have gaming commission meetings scheduled to occur in the coming week. Revenues for most of these states will be discussed but newer states to legalize sports betting like that of Colorado could also be issuing more sportsbook operator licenses during their meeting.

November 21 will mark the second anniversary of legal sports betting officially launching in West Virginia. The industry for West Virginia is better now than it’s ever been since opening with $4.6 million in revenue generated in September. The market has fluctuated over the past two years but has been on a steady rise since the comeback of sports in July.

News tags: Capital One Arena | Colorado | COVID-19 | DraftKings | ESPN | FanDuel | Flutter | FOX Sports | FuboTV | GambetDC | Illinois | Indiana | Indianapolis Colts | Iowa | Nevada | New Jersey | NFL | OH SB 111 | Ohio | Pennsylvania | SportsGrid | Virginia | Virginia Lottery | Washington DC | West Virginia | William Hill sportsbook