Top Sports Betting Apps Receive Expected Boost From Super Bowl Gambling Frenzy
If you took a greater interest in sports betting last week leading up to Super Bowl LV, you weren’t alone.
In fact, total U.S. downloads for FOX Bet Super 6, FanDuel Sportsbook, DraftKings Sportsbook, BetMGM Sportsbook and Bet On Sports reached 388,000 during the week of February 1-7, a figure 74% higher than during the week prior, according to data from Sensor Tower provided exclusively to Variety Intelligence Platform.
Those five apps are most-downloaded sports betting apps of 2021 year-to-date, though the apps cumulatively suffered a 61% drop in downloads during the week of January 25-31 — the week between the AFC/NFC Championships and Super Bowl when no NFL games were played.
FanDuel’s sports betting app surged the most last week, Sensor Tower data suggests.
FanDuel Sportsbook and Casino downloads were up 161% week-over-week, a percent change over three times greater than the weekly increase in downloads of FOX Bet Super 6 (50%) and DraftKings SportsBook and Casino (49%).
The rise in downloads during the week leading up to the Super Bowl confirms VIP’s suspicion explained last week that there is a correlation between sports gambling app interest and the NFL postseason, and that top sports betting apps would have a big Super Bowl weekend.
Keep in mind that top sports betting platforms such as FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM experienced technical difficulties before and during the Super Bowl due to surging demand, CNBC reported this afternoon.
The technical difficulties and crashes experienced by some top sports betting operators is surprising given there was ample hints that sports betting activity would spike because of the big game.
For one, sports betting is now sports betting is accessible (legally) as ever. Sports betting is now offered to consumers legally through retail and/or online sportsbooks in 20 states, though only 11 states currently offer the option to bet via mobile with multiple players, per The Action Network.
Meanwhile many consumers had been indicating they were ready to bet online leading up to the big game. The American Gaming Association prior to the Super Bowl estimated 7.6 million Americans would bet on this year’s Super Bowl online, a record figure up 63% year-over-year, based on a survey conducted by Morning Consult in late January.
Super Bowl Sunday may have marked an opportunity for less widely-downloaded apps to gain some ground on their top competitors. William Hill and PointsBet claim their platforms yesterday were unaffected by technical issues, per CNBC.
