BetMGM Beats Earnings and Revenue Forecasts for the First Quarter
UK.- April 30, 2025 www.zonadeazar.com BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt and CFO Gary Deutsch answered questions from analysts on April 28 in a lively half-hour conference call about first-quarter results. The company exceeded Wall Street expectations and its own projections, beating the latter by 17%. However, those projections were not updated.
“At this point, we think it’s best to be fairly cautious in commenting on the rest of the year,” Greenblatt explained. He did admit that he expected a slowdown in betting volume growth. BetMGM reported 68% growth in net online sports betting revenue, including a 29% increase in money wagered. Combined bets increased 4.8% and average spend per user grew 27%. BetMGM also recorded $133 million in iGaming revenue, along with a return on investment of $154 million, closing the quarter with $22 million in the black.
“The business is healthier than ever,” Greenblatt began. “Both areas of the business experienced strong growth in gross revenue.” He dismissed $30 million in losses from unfavorable March Madness results. ”We are focused on the value of our players, not just the quantity. We had a very satisfying start to the year. 2025 is the year we turn the corner. We see strong momentum continuing. That said, we are only one quarter in.”
Greenblatt said BetMGM was not feeling any effects from macroeconomic uncertainties. “What we’re seeing is really robust health.” As for the promotional environment, “we’re seeing it’s pretty stable, and in fact, we’re seeing customer acquisition costs moderate.” “Promotions are a big inflater of betting volume,” Deutsch cautioned. Fewer promotions would mean less money wagered. “Players get used to a certain level of promotional investment,” so moderation is required when reducing free bets, he added.
Greenblatt went on to say that the sports betting strategy was to serve all customers ‘superbly’ but focus capital investment on those with the highest value. In contrast, in iGaming, ”we are a company for everyone.”
The topic of prediction markets and their encroachment on sports betting came up. Greenblatt opined, “We’re at the intersection between state rights” and federal prerogatives, something that will be resolved in court. He thought the Bradley Act, which banned most sports betting, had been repealed, but apparently not.
The CEO admitted “a certain degree of risk” from prediction markets in states with legalized sports betting. “We know from other international markets that [predictions] are a very small niche. We will participate if necessary.”
As for the potential “tax hike,” as one stock analyst put it, Greenblatt said BetMGM was continuing to push for the most reasonable and appropriate rates possible. He did not see a widespread wave of tax increases, but rather local political phenomena.
Greenblatt noted that it was helpful to their cause that more data was becoming available on the size of the illegal market. He added that macroeconomic fears could work to BetMGM’s advantage in the form of more legalized, taxed, and regulated online sports betting (OSB) and iGaming. He did admit that there was “some risk” of tax increases in New Jersey, Maryland, and Colorado (where tax-free free bets are under legislative scrutiny).
On the positive side, Greenblatt expected Missouri to launch OSB by December 1, possibly sooner. And in Alberta, iGaming and sports betting should begin in the first quarter of 2026. Greenblatt said BetMGM’s growing market share in Ontario boded well for Alberta.
“I don’t think we’re missing anything,” Greenblatt replied when asked about merger and acquisition activity. BetMGM, he said, has all of Entain’s technology at its disposal.
Instead, he said, BetMGM would work on more in-house games, live betting, and improving speed and performance. ”We want to offer our players a truly special and premium experience.”
Edited by: @MaiaDigital www.zonadeazar.com