June Online Gaming Deposits Down A Bit from May, According to Research Report

Posted on: July 4, 2021, 11:23h. 

Last updated on: July 5, 2021, 08:43h.

Steve Bittenbender Read More
Expertise: Legislation, Sports Betting, Horse Racing.

A recent report from a research and analytics firm indicates June deposits in US online gaming accounts softened modestly compared to May.

Online gaming deposits
DraftKings employees walk down the entrance hallway at the company’s Boston headquarters. M Science, a research and analytics firm, is projecting the online gaming company to increase revenues for the second quarter by more than 260 percent compared to the second quarter of last year. (Image: David Ryan/Boston Globe)

It continues a downward trend that has been happening since February, according to Michael Erstad, a senior analyst at M Science who tracks the online gaming industry for the firm. The research tracks digital wallet funding, so both mobile sports betting and iGaming deposits are combined.

Obviously, there’s got to be some flow to the retail casinos as lockdowns ease and people leave their homes. But I think the big piece is we’ve moved away from the NFL playoffs and the NCAA Tournament,” Erstad told Casino.org.

The NFL football season, which runs from August to February, and the NCAA college basketball tournament in March are the most popular events for sports bettors in the US.

Still, deposits are up by more than 100 percent in June compared to a year ago. That’s thanks to a combination of states that have launched online gaming in the last 12 months, as well as the return of a normal sports calendar. A year ago, Major League Baseball did not start its season until July 23, and the NBA and NHL seasons did not resume until late July and early August.

Big Three Still the Big Three in Online Gaming

While there’s less deposited overall, M Science’s data shows that the usual operators are getting most of the funds. In the seven states M Science tracked, BetMGM, DraftKings, and FanDuel compete for top billing.

FanDuel had strong starts to the month in Virginia, Michigan, Tennessee, and Illinois. Of note, M Science said the Flutter Entertainment product continued to dominate in Virginia.

DraftKings, meanwhile, was neck-and-neck with FanDuel in New Jersey, but held the lead in Colorado.

While BetMGM did not hold a top spot, it was second in Colorado, Michigan, and Tennessee.

The one exception is Pennsylvania, where BetRivers leads. That’s thanks to the Rush Street Interactive product operating the top iGaming app in the state. FanDuel and BetMGM followed BetRivers.

Deposits were not down in all states, according to Erstad’s findings. M Science found that New Jersey’s spending was increasing on week-to-week levels, and Colorado’s deposits in early June outpaced those from the latter half of May. Meanwhile, Michigan also saw better action than in the previous month.

DraftKings Poised to Beat Revenue Estimates

Erstad also shared some specific insights into DraftKings, showing the firm estimates the Boston-based sports gaming and technology company is in line for a strong second quarter of the year.

M Science estimates DraftKings revenue will be $272.7 million. That would be a year-to-year increase of more than 263 percent. The consensus average from other analysts for DraftKings is $246.7 million, a nearly 229 percent increase from the 2020 second quarter.

There are a couple factors to consider with that. First, as noted above, there were far fewer sports betting opportunities in the 2020 second quarter, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, several major states – Michigan, Tennessee, and Virginia – all launched in either late 2020 or early 2021. DraftKings also launched in Illinois in the second half of 2020, and was able to take advantage of the state waiving in-person registration to quickly gain market share in the state.