The April edition of our U.S. Sports Betting Market Monitor is now live.
Early 2026 data continue to reinforce a market defined by margin discipline. State-reported results in March show handle trending negative y/y (-4% ) alongside broad-based promotional pullbacks, while elevated hold continues to drive strong NGR growth (+105% y/y on an easy comp). The shift from growth to margin optimization that we flagged in our CY26 Outlook remains clearly visible in the data.
Most operators are seeing softer handle growth alongside stronger NGR, though Fanatics and bet365 continue to stand out with sustained growth across both metrics. Competitive positioning is also shifting: BetMGM has ramped promotional intensity in early 2026, while Fanatics continues to moderate spend and has now pulled even with BetMGM on NGR share where trackable.
A central focus this month is the emerging interplay between prediction markets and OSB acquisition. Early 1Q26 earnings commentary suggests mixed impact on CAC, with some operators reporting little to no effect and pressure concentrated among those competing for lower-value OSB cohorts.
We also highlight a developing product and execution theme: live betting performance. DraftKings continues to lead in MLB moneyline uptime, per Bettormetrics, with Fanatics showing the largest year-on-year improvement and closing the gap with top-tier operators. More broadly, uptime gains are widespread, reinforcing ongoing improvements in live product quality across the market.
Additional topics this month include:

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The July edition of our U.S. Online Casino Monitor is now live, with data current through June 2026. U.S. iCasino growth remains healthy but continues to normalize. Nationwide GGR increased +20% y/y in June, ahead of the recent T3M rate of +17% but still below T12M growth of +22%. June’s reacceleration therefore does not materially change the broader moderation trend, while Pennsylvania data continue to show slots carrying market expansion as tables soften. A central focus this month is the realized iCasino impact of the World Cup. GGR growth accelerated modestly versus the pre-tournament trend, with DraftKings showing the clearest directional over-index and BetMGM posting a smaller positive read-through. Most other sportsbook-led brands held trend or decelerated, suggesting customer-friendly sports results did not translate into a broad same-month recycling surge. The outcome also reinforces our view that operators generally stopped short of treating the World Cup as a major iCasino promotional event. We also examine widening operator dispersion through the lens of early 2Q26 earnings. RSI materially outpaced EKG’s estimated +17% U.S. iCasino GGR comp, while Caesars and BetMGM trailed despite constructive underlying company KPIs. At the same time, the policy dynamics are shifting: tax-increase risk has receded for now, while Pennsylvania-led regulatory reform—including potential deposit, advertising and VIP restrictions—has become the more consequential near-term watch item. Also inside: FanDuel and DraftKings earnings setup: FanDuel est. 2Q26 iCasino GGR +12% and DraftKings +2%—both below-market Continued evidence that weaker OSB economics may be creating headwinds for traditional sportsbook-to-iCasino cross-sell Game performance spotlight: Huff N Even More Puff Grand narrows Cash Eruption’s GGR-share lead to just 2bps
The July edition of our U.S. Sports Betting Market Monitor is now live The 2026 World Cup delivered record U.S. soccer NGR, ahead of expectations and driven by strong SGP and in-play activity—with a catch. Channel checks suggest little to no benefit landed in 2Q26, while the stronger-margin knockout rounds produced a much more constructive start to 3Q. Preliminary state-reported data underline that split: June handle rose roughly 26% y/y across our select-state cohort, but player-friendly results compressed net hold to 5.0% and left NGR down 40% y/y. A central focus this month is the readthrough for 2Q26 earnings. State-reported data directionally point to muted handle growth across most public operators as bonusing growth continued to moderate, with lower hold creating an additional NGR headwind for FanDuel and DraftKings (BetMGM’s OSB results broadly tracked that signal). Because most of the World Cup’s expected revenue benefit falls in 3Q26, we expect earnings calls to emphasize current trading, record soccer activity, and post-quarter momentum more than the reported quarter itself. We also look ahead to the NFL season, where sportsbook product teams are prioritizing in-play SGP growth and more flexible parlay formats. Fanatics’ On the Clock and Caesars’ Flex Parlay are among the products to watch, reinforcing a critical OSB advantage over prediction markets: greater parlay depth and combinability. Additional topics this month include: • World Cup live-betting uptime analysis, including Hard Rock’s improvement following its Kambi Odds Feed+ integration • Proprietary analysis showing the U.S. OSB GGR-share race tightening below DraftKings and FanDuel • Updated UA analysis showing challenger brands accounting for more than 40% of OSB app downloads in 2026 through June
In this 38pp report we provide the results of our real-world testing of 15 of the leading sports betting apps in the UK and provide detailed analysis of the findings and implications for the UK market.