A sports betting industry data analytics company has revealed that billions in handle and hundreds of millions in revenue are being lost by domestic mobile sportsbooks because of the time they take to lock betting on in-game wagers to adjust their lines and odds.
Time Is Money
Any sports bettor who has placed an in-game wager knows that the odds and lines change based on what’s transpiring in the game itself. A basketball point spread could be -5 but should the favorite score a bucket, the line will change. But during that change, the in-game betting will shut down, leaving bettors waiting to bet until the new line is revealed.
But the time it takes for the line to change varies from sportsbook to sportsbook and time is money. The longer the delay, the more potential handle and revenue are lost. But even worse, some bettors may look elsewhere if the delays are frequent and the waits are long. Getting customers is the lifeblood of any business and sportsbooks are no different.
Loyal Customers Are the Goal
But once a sportsbook gets that customer, they will likely stay loyal as most of them will have only one sportsbook, as opposed to professional bettors who often have accounts at several sportsbooks to compare odds and lines. But recreational bettors comprise the overwhelming majority of customers who patronize U.S. mobile sportsbooks, which means losing them to a competitor is a lose-lose scenario for that book.
Therefore, keeping customers happy is essential and even though in-game betting delays are inevitable, what can be manipulated is the downtime. Some do it better than others and the experts are saying those who do will lose much less potential revenue.
“While suspension is an inevitable occurrence in sports betting as traders necessarily evaluate the risks surrounding new situations within games, some sportsbooks are more systematically cautious than others. It’s this situational nuance that leads to more sportsbooks looking at risk instead of the potential rewards around improving its average uptime” said Robert Urwin, CEO and co-founder of Bettormetrics.
FanDuel Dilly Dallies
FanDuel is one half of the mobile sports betting duopoly in the United States with DraftKings being the other. But if DraftKings is Robin then FanDuel is Batman with the latter ensconced as America’s most popular sportsbook based on betting handle and revenue.
However, it also leads in the category of the amount of lost handle and revenue due to in-game betting delays. According to Bettormetrics, FanDuel leads the other two most popular sportsbooks in potential handle loss with 1.45 billion and $116.1 million in adjusted gross revenue due to its 15.8% in-game betting downtime.
DrafKing’s Numbers
On the other end of the spectrum, DraftKings had a stellar suspension rate of just 4.8%, which meant a far lower loss of a potential handle at $249.3 million while the revenue loss was equally commensurate at $19.9 million. The analysis for this report was based on NBA betting data during the 2023-2024 season.
“In looking at our NBA data of the top three US sportsbooks, it’s clear to see the suspension strategies and the risk management perspectives of each book’s trading desks. While FanDuel is potentially losing out on the most revenue, based on its incredible volume, with a few optimizations it can dramatically increase its margins and create distance between itself and DraftKings as the definitive leader in the US,” said Urwin.
“Every operator is looking for ways to grow their margins, increase wagering and reduce customer attrition. While many sportsbooks externalize their focus on the cost of user acquisition, suspension can help a sportsbook find new revenue from within by becoming more efficient than their competitors,” said Sabin Brooks, Commercial Director of Bettormetrics.
“In the US, market share is gained in very slim percentage points. By understanding and addressing these crucial trading efficiencies, sportsbooks can potentially gain billions in lost revenue. A poor suspension strategy is very bad business for customers and shareholders alike.”
