September US Sports Betting Market Monitor: Q4 accounts for one third of overall OSB handle

The impact of seasonality on US sports betting has been laid bare in Eilers & Krejcik Gaming’s September US Sports Betting Market Monitor.

Q4 – a period that includes the bulk of the NFL season – accounts for 33% of overall nationwide betting handle.

It also leads the way for gross gaming revenue, again generating just under a third of the annual US total at 32%.

Indeed, nearly two thirds of overall betting handle is generated during Q4 and Q1, when most US sports leagues are active and drive the vast majority of betting behaviour.

Q1 provides the second most handle at 31%, while Q2 and Q3 both contribute 18%.

According to the boutique research firm, handle skews more heavily towards the most promotionally active sporting events, such as The Super Bowl (Q1), March Madness (Q1) and the NFL campaign (Q1 and Q4).

The quarterly share of GGR is more evenly split. Q1 again comes in second with 26%, followed by Q2 and Q3, which both account for 21% of GGR.

During the middle quarters of Q2 and Q3, betting activity mostly centres around baseball (MLB) and lower tier sports like soccer and tennis.

These lower tier sports typically produce higher hold rates for operators than headline events.

The promotionally driven Q1 period explains the five percentage point discrepancy between handle and GGR for the quarter.

“Our estimates take into account the country’s unique sporting calendar, as well as trends – including hold percentage trends – we’ve observed across state markets,” said EKG.

The seasonality trends identified by EKG were reflected in New York’s online sports betting market, where the state’s monthly handle dipped below $1bn for the first time in July (Q3).

“I love baseball but it’s nothing like football season, this is such a great time of year,” DraftKings CEO Jason Robins told CNBC earlier this month.

The new NFL season kicked off on 8 September and smashed multiple betting records.