Sports Betting Takes Off
Prediction: The Profitable Ascendancy of FanDuel, DraftKings, and Fanatics in Sports Betting Spells Trouble for Competitors
Even as the overall sports betting industry slows down in growth during the final quarter of 2024, two titans, FanDuel and DraftKings, remain unscathed and reign supreme. These giants have weathered the storm that took down numerous competitors since the sports betting market rush from 2020 to 2022. As DraftKings edges closer and Fanatics Sportsbook rises, the future of the sports betting industry looks electric.
Top Dogs
FanDuel and DraftKings have held their positions as market leaders, with FanDuel barely maintaining its lead over DraftKings. In 2025, DraftKings has its sights set on FanDuel's crown again. Between Q4 2024 and the previous year, DraftKings saw significant gains, with a share increase of 11%, bolstered by Q4 revenue of $1.39 billion. On the other hand, FanDuel took a hit, dropping 68 basis points in market share.
Despite the closing gap, FanDuel remains comfortably ahead, with Q4 2024 revenue reaching $1.61 billion. While the race between the top two remains tight, Fanatics has emerged as a formidable contender, challenging BetMGM and threatening to displace it as the market's bridesmaid.
The Rise of Fanatics
Fanatics Sportsbook, a subsidiary of the US sportswear powerhouse, has risen meteorically since its founding in 1995 as a manufacturer and retailer of licensed sports merchandise and collectibles. In 2022, Fanatics secured a $1.5 billion investment at a $27 billion valuation before Michael Rubin, the CEO, sold his shares in the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Devils to comply with sports betting regulations. Abandoning teams, he jumped headfirst into the sports betting market in late 2023, winning the bidding war for PointsBet's US assets for $225 million, giving it access to 8 legal sports betting states. By 2025, Fanatics had expanded nationwide, capturing 6.7% of the market share.
Fall of the House of Mouse, BetMGM?
While FanDuel, DraftKings, and Fanatics thrive, other sportsbooks struggle to stay afloat. The potential casualty of this fight is ESPN Bet, which entered the market around the same time as Fanatics. Despite the collaboration between Disney and Penn Entertainment, ESPN Bet faces a steep uphill battle against the industry titans. In late 2023, analysts warned of a "hail mary" for the two brands, as their compatibility failed to produce the desired results.
Another potential casualty is BetMGM, which announced mass layoffs in response to the industry-wide slowdown. While FanDuel, DraftKings, and Fanatics capture the majority of the market share, sportsbooks like MaximBet and SI Sportsbook face an uncertain future.
The Future Ahead
The future of the sports betting industry is promising but crowded. Brands like Fanatics, FanDuel, and DraftKings aim to dominate, each with unique selling points. Meanwhile, upstarts like Robinhood, Kalshi, and Polymarket threaten traditional sportsbooks with prediction or event markets. The future of these platforms is undetermined, but FanDuel remains watchful, seeing them as potential competition. As the industry evolves, the battle for supremacy will only heat up.
- As Fanatics Sportsbook expands and challenges BetMGM, the sports-betting industry is seeing a new polarizing force in the market, with Fanatics' rise potentially disrupting the formerly established players like DraftKings and FanDuel.
- In the midst of a crowded sports-betting industry, Flutter, the parent company of FanDuel, has been keeping a keen eye on the emerging platforms, such as Robinhood and Polymarket, which offer prediction or event markets, recognizing them as potential competitors in the future.
- The sports-betting industry has witnessed an industrywide slowdown in growth during the final quarter of 2024, but the heated competition between the top sportsbooks – FanDuel, DraftKings, and the emerging Fanatics Sportsbook – continues to create a captivating and evolving battleground in the sports-betting landscape.
