Specialist
Former executive adviser at William Hill plc
Agenda
- Trends and developments in the North America OSB (online sports betting) industry
- Regional regulatory trends, including outlook for New York's foray into mobile betting and maturity in states such as Pennsylvania and Michigan
- Potential market share shifts, revenue mix, marketing investments and CAC overview
- M&A landscape and 2022 outlook, including continued legalisation in states across the US
Questions
1.
Could you share your thoughts on the online sports betting industry and your 2022 outlook?
2.
How has the US market developed compared to your expectations? Do you find that today is better or worse off than what you were thinking three or six months ago?
3.
You mentioned New York’s foray into the mobile betting market. Can anyone make money in New York with a 51% revenue share going to the government?
4.
Are you surprised that BetMGM didn’t show up in New York on launch day alongside DraftKings, FanDuel and Caesars? What do you suspect may have happened there?
5.
How do you expect the New Jersey market overall to be impacted by New York going live? Do you have any thoughts on how meaningful cross-border play has been to that market?
6.
New Jersey seems to have continued to deliver growth year after year. Would you expect the same in states such as Pennsylvania and Michigan? What would you frame as a typical timeline to maturity?
7.
Do you find that states will increase the tax rate over time, and if not, why not?
8.
You mentioned operators will have to adapt or revisit their strategy in response to higher taxes, especially with marketing or related investments. How might some of these operators specifically adopt these strategies accordingly, if at all, to those higher tax rates, using New York as one example?
9.
What do you think of the UK regulatory process and what are your expectations for what may happen there, including your expectations on timing?
10.
Can you share your thoughts on CAC [customer acquisition cost] in markets such as New York, where some platforms are offering upwards of approximately USD 3,000 in incentives to new customers? How might some of these platforms be framing lifetime value and CAC when offering that sort of deal?
11.
You mentioned a bit of this shift to a near-term profit focus. Do you anticipate the promotional environment settling down a bit over 2022 and specific players beginning to focus on profits rather than that land grab mentality? Just trying to reconcile this with someone such as Caesars, who, as you mentioned, is offering close to a USD 3,300 incentive.
12.
Could you share your thoughts on the news that Wynn Resorts is aiming to sell its WynnBet online sports betting platform? The price tag was quoted to be approximately USD 500m.
13.
What assumptions could we make about Caesars’ plans for the US market? Is there any reason to believe it aspires to be top three out of five?
14.
Why do you think BetMGM has had such a strong rise in 2021? Is there anything in particular you’d highlight that it is doing better than its peers?
15.
What do you think of Penn’s positioning in light of recent negative press on Dave Portnoy and what it might mean for Barstool and Penn’s future?
16.
What are your thoughts on Penn starting to build in-house at this point, post-Score transaction?
17.
Are there any operators you believe have the strongest tech stack and operational excellence, and alternatively, any players you find trailing in this area?
18.
Who or what do you find to be the biggest threat – competitive or otherwise – to the big three online sports betting players over the next 24 months? Any thoughts the threats from an existing or new entrants?
19.
Do you have any thoughts on the relative health of the M&A market within the online sports betting sector?
20.
What do you think of Endeavor’s acquisition of OpenBet, including merits and drawbacks?
21.
What is your outlook for new states legalising or regulating, and who’s next? What do you anticipate happening with Florida, Texas or California down the road, and do you have timelines on possible legalisation?
