NFL season expected to spur record $35 billion in legal sports wagers

Football is back and it is expected to bring record-breaking betting.

According to projections from the American Gaming Association, American adults will wager $35 billion this NFL season.

That would represent a more than 30 percent increase from the $26.7 billion Americans wagered on the National Football League season last year, the AGA said, setting a new record. Since last NFL season, Maine, North Carolina and Vermont have allowed sports betting operators to launch in their states. And court rulings have allowed Hard Rock International to relaunch sports betting in Florida.

Today, sports betting is live and legal in 38 states and Washington, DC

And yet, shares in gambling companies are not following the same growth trajectory. Shares of DesignKings, Pens, Caesars, MGM Resorts And Containwho jointly own BetMGM, have all posted negative results so far this year. flutter, owner of FanDuel, has risen 19 percent since listing on the New York Stock Exchange this year. It reported second-quarter earnings that beat expectations for revenue and profit, boosting the shares.

Churchill Downs is positive about the year and Rush Street Interactive has posted a remarkable gain of 109% so far this year.

Each of the recognized bookmakers is working on strategies to get a bigger piece of the action, trying to attract new customers and convince established players to be more loyal to the brand.

NFL kickoff is an opportunity to launch new and improved technology or innovative bets that entice players. Sportsbooks tailor their promotions to reach new customers.

“The NFL season is our biggest acquisition period of the year,” said Christian Genetski, president of FanDuel, the nation’s largest sportsbook.

FanDuel is uniquely partnering with YouTube to roll out a “Sunday Ticket” offering. Players who wager $5 will get a three-week trial to watch out-of-market NFL games with “Sunday Ticket.” FanDuel hopes fans will bet more if they can watch their favorite teams.

FanDuel also said it has redesigned its app and added more betting options to its Same Game Parlay, upgrading features so fans can bet at “the speed of sports,” the company said.

With over 95% of sports betting now taking place online, speed is of the essence. This is especially true for micro-bets – betting on specific plays as the match unfolds.

Fanatics, Michael Rubin’s e-commerce empire of sporting goods and memorabilia, launched its sportsbook in four markets last year. Since then, Fanatics Sportsbook has acquired PointsBet’s U.S. operations and technology, which are now fully integrated. And its sportsbook is now live in 22 states.

It's quite an impressive ramp for a newcomer to the industry.

Fanatics Sportsbook relies on its existing database of 100 million sports fans to attract customers year-round and rewards them with products from the merchandise and collectibles companies.

And just before the start of the 2024 football season, Fanatics hosted a massive fan event: Fanatics Fest NYC, where customers could meet athletes and celebrities and celebrate their passion for sports.

Matt King, CEO of Fanatics Sportsbook, told CNBC that the response from customers has been overwhelming.

“We’ve seen incredibly positive sentiment and resonance with our proposition to be the most rewarding sportsbook, both in terms of the economic value of what we give back and, frankly, the unique things we can do,” King said.

King said unique rewards for players contribute to the peak of the sports calendar, which he described as the “sporting equinox” — the period in the fall when nearly all sports are played on overlapping schedules.

According to DraftKings, the NFL is the most popular league, both in terms of number of bets and revenue.

The bookmaker, which recently backtracked on a plan to tax customers in high-tax states, is offering a “No Touchdown” bet this season, meaning punters can now bet on whether a top player will not score a touchdown.

With stocks down 28% this year and digital businesses in the red, there's a lot of attention on Penn Entertainment. This is the first full NFL season to feature ESPN Bet, the $2 billion investment in a new sportsbook in partnership with the Disney-owned sports juggernaut. It first launched last November, in the middle of the NFL season.

Since then, the platform has grown its customer base to 31 million members, an 80% gain. Penn's leaders are bullish on the media integration with ESPN.

“People are engaged in our app and our goal over the next few quarters is to increase loyalty and retention and better monetize our important engagement activities through improved products and expanded offerings,” Penn CEO Jay Snowden said during an earnings call on Aug. 8.

BetMGM just launched Nevada’s first single wallet for mobile gaming, allowing customers to move their accounts from Las Vegas back to their home states. Mobile wallets eliminate the friction of multiple transactions.

“Our players can now immerse themselves in the excitement of MGM Resorts destinations in Las Vegas or elsewhere in the state, while continuing to place bets seamlessly in other BetMGM markets,” BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt said in a statement.

Tune in: CNBC will announce the official 2024 NFL team ratings on Thursday, September 5, both on TV and online.