BetMGM Optimistic for Online Sports Betting Market Share

BetMGM may still trail the big boys in terms of the online sports betting market share, but MGM Resorts CEO Bill Hornbuckle is optimistic about the company’s future. Hornbuckle took over from previous CEO Jim Murren and Hornbuckle was confident that BetMGM will have product growth. He made comments recently in the company’s first-quarter earnings call. MGM Resorts CFO Jonathan Halkyard opened up the call but it was Hornbuckle who had plenty to say.

Hornbuckle said that although BetMGM trails FanDuel and DraftKings, he said the company is still first in terms of sports betting with brick-and-mortar operators.  It was the second earnings call since Entain CEO Jette Nygaard-Andersen tendered her resignation last December. Entain is a 50-50 partner with MGM Resorts for BetMGM. Entain is one of the biggest gambling operators in Europe. Stella David is now the interim CEO at Entain.

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Hornbuckle had good things to say about David on the call. “We think it’s movement in the right direction, and it’s something that, frankly, heretofore hadn’t happened,” said Hornbuckle on the call. “Everyone is agreeing to the road map. It’s an extensive road map on product development, and it’s going to take some time, energy, and some investment, particularly on Entain’s behalf. They’re fully supportive of that.”

Whether or not Entain stays a partner in BetMGM has not been decided. It could be that MGM Resorts takes over. MGM Resorts tried that route in 2021 but their bid was rejected by Entain. It could also be that Entain and MGM Resorts continue their current partnership for BetMGM.

Hornbuckle said that the tie-in loyalty program with Marriott was off to a good beginning. MGM has a very good loyalty rewards program and during the first quarter, MGM Rewards added about one million new customers in the rewards program with about 600,000 coming from BetMGM. The bad news for BetMGM is that they were a drain on MGM Resorts last quarter, as MGM Resorts reported a loss of 32.6 million with BetMGM. The good news is that number is down from the $81.9 million loss from the same period last year. 

There is also news that Tipico could be looking to sell their U.S. sports betting platform and MGM Resorts could be a potential buyer. Hornbuckle would not specifically address those rumors but he did say there are some opportunities down the road. 

Last October, Entain completed the acquisition of Angstrom, a data analytics provider that specializes in risk management, forecasting, and pricing in the sports betting market. Angstrom has designed new parlay offerings and in-game betting markets in the NBA and MLB, Hornbuckle added.

MGM Resorts had a first quarter of consolidated net revenue of $4.38 billion. That number was better than the estimate of $4.24 billion. MGM made shareholders happy as they increased earnings per share, easily beating expectations. MGM shares have been trading about $41 per share. 

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