This G2E panel discussion on the present and future of sports betting and online casino gambling consisted of Joey Levy, owner and CEO of betr, a microbetting app; Andromeda Morrison, who works for the Ohio Casino Control Commission; David Lane, CEO of Sports Illustrated Tickets; and Matt Sodl, CEO of Innovation Capital. It was moderated by gaming attorney Bill Gantz.
The group was diverse, and most spoke of the problems in their own segment of the market. Some overall takeaways were:
- The cost of customer acquisition makes this segment of the industry unprofitable right now. Companies like Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Disney, and others that already have a loyal customer base have a leg up in terms of getting and keeping them as gaming customers.
- There will be mergers between companies with interesting products and companies with established names.
- It’s difficult to differentiate among brands. The winners will be those that make their product unique, probably by the mix of related products associated with the gaming app.
- Every state has its own regulatory processes. Currently, about 30 states have some form of online gaming, with five more coming next year.
- It appears to be only a matter of time before the Wire Act is addressed on the national level, which will allow for nationwide betting. There was little disagreement that this will eventually happen, but no consensus on when.
- More brick-and-mortar casinos will become more involved in online gaming than are doing it now. It’s a matter of driving visits to the casinos themselves, which is where the profits are.
