BetMGM and GVC Holdings Want Dominance Over U.S. Online Sports Betting Market

Prior to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to drop the federal ban against sports betting in the U.S., gambling market experts believed that U.S. sports bettors were wagering in excess of $150 billion a year through offshore and illegal betting operations. With the ban lifted, that number became the target for sports betting operators that were looking to move into the U.S. sports betting market.

To date, fewer than a dozen states have passed the required legislation permitting online sports betting for its resident. Within those states, there are three major online bookmakers that have made significant progress towards market dominance. The three major players are DraftKings Sportsbook, FanDuel Sportsbook, and to a slightly lesser degree BetMGM Sportsbook. Of course, all of this is subject to change.

With major league sports ready to start reopening after the COVID19 shutdown, U.S. sports bettors are ready to get back into action. This has not been lost on the aforementioned bookmakers. They will be looking to grab new online bettors in their efforts to gain market share on the way to becoming the nation's leading online bookmaker. Now is the time for a major move.

That is exactly what BetMGM has done through its partnership with GVC Holdings. GVC Holdings is currently one of the largest sports betting and gaming groups in the world with major holdings throughout Europe. According to Legal Sports Report, GVC has announced they will be providing an additional $250 million in funding to BetMGM operations to serve as a war chest in the ongoing battle. That brings GVC's total investment to $450 since the company made the decision to move forward with the partnership.

From the aforementioned report, GVC Chief Executive Kenny Alexander stated: “other people have the ammunition to really go and grab market share, and we’ve put this investment in as a sign the kid gloves are coming off. Our aspiration to be the market leader is very real.”

Apparently, stockholders took this move to heart as GVC Holding's stock price soared from just under $750 a share on the London exchange at the beginning of July to a current price of $865 a share. That's an increase of 15.33% in less than two weeks. For DraftKings' stockholders, Draftkings shares have been down a few percentage points while the broader market has been moving higher in the last couple of weeks.

For now, it's a fair bet all three players will be making other moves. DraftKings has just announced progress in the newly legalized Colorado sports betting market.