My brief, unsustainingly profitable (thanks to launch-related promotions) dip into mobile sports betting, which just began in New York, and should be huge

Thank you, online/mobile sports gambling: last week, after such wagering went live 1/8/22, I "won" more than $82 on NBA games, which I can now spend, I guess, in the local economy.

On paper, though, I lost more than $300, given that the casino companies gave away $400 in free bets. (That's separate from deposit bonuses.)

Had it been my money, I'd be deep in the hole. 

I've stopped, but I must admit, it's tempting. 

After all, when Caesar's offered a $25 free bet, up to $100, for every free throw made in the final two minutes of the Knicks-Mavs game, well, that's a likely $100, right? See screenshot at left.

You just had to wager at least $100 on the game. Oh.

That's why this gambling thing can be dangerous. I can see how people who have gambling tendencies might enjoy the dopamine or figure that, if they lose, there's a good chance to recoup those losses, by doubling down. 

Hence the requisite warnings about Problem Gambling. as indicated at right.

Free money, easy wagers

Of course, because I was betting with free money, I wasn't super careful. (Plus, the only sport I follow is NBA basketball, so I wasn't tempted to look, say, at NFL football, which has a huge audience.)

On Fan Duel, I took my $100 and spread it among 10 quick bets on NBA games. I lost all but one.

There are so many things to bet on: who wins; the total score; whether a star scores over his average; whether a game goes to overtime. It's endless.

Thank you, Kevin Durant for scoring the first basket against the Spurs: my $5 bet got me $28.50. That check is in the mail. 

(You can only take out winnings, not the grubstake--understandable.)

Every other bet? Not so wise.

On Caesar's, I actually won four bets and lost four--again, very quick bets, mostly mindlessly backing teams against the spread.

But because one of those losing bets was $240, I wasn't about to make a lot of money.

Unlike Fan Duel, Caesar's won't let you withdraw winnings unless you deposit some of your own funds. They want to keep you around.

So I put in $20 and made another bet--and lost. So the $74.06 that they transferred to PayPal was really worth $54.06.

What now?

Now I can't stop seeing betting ads in my Twitter feed, as shown at right.

I'm just a dabbler. The companies are spending a lot of money on recruiting bettors, as described below.

But the house--at least for the company or companies that wind up with the most market share--always wins.

And this is going to be a fixture in the sporting world, in advertising, in sports venues. That's a new (or increased) revenue stream for the Brooklyn Nets, already sponsored by FanDuel.

More coming, and revenue to the team

As NetsDaily recently reported, state legislative bills are pending that would permit sports venues to have on-site gambling kiosks, and team/arena company owner Joe Tsai expects sports betting to be :a huge fan engagement tool," with opportunity to bet--as I've already seen--not just on the outcome of the game but discrete elements.

“The way we are going to benefit is through marketing dollars and people willing to spend their marketing budget on the Nets in order to have access to our fanbase,” Tsai told NetsDaily. “All these betting guys want to get access to our fanbase. And that’s our economics.”

Indeed, just yesterday the Buffalo Bills and Caesars Entertainment announced "a multi-year partnership to make Caesars Sportsbook an Official Mobile Sports Betting Partner of the Buffalo Bills." That's on top of an existing partnership with FanDuel.

So if the Bills can do it, so can the Nets.

Big business

NY SPORTS BETTING FIRMS SPEND AGGRESSIVELY DESPITE 51% TAX RATE, Sportico's JohnWallStreet reported 1/14/22:

Online sports betting made its long-awaited debut in New York on Jan. 8, as four operators went live with a series of eye-catching promotions in an effort to woo customers (see: Caesars Sportsbook’s $3K Empire State Royal Welcome offering). It might sound illogical to spend heavily on marketing in a state with a 51% tax rate on sports betting, the highest in the country by a wide margin. In fact, a common narrative prior to launch was that operators would dial back their marketing and promotional efforts in New York because the cost structure within the state makes it difficult to turn a profit. But history shows the importance of achieving scale and gaining a first-mover advantage, and industry experts say Caesars, DraftKings, FanDuel and BetRivers are wise to be just as aggressive in opening up New York, if not more so, as they have been in other states.

The writer's conclusion: that steep tax rate--well above the 10-20% in most other states--it's similar to the rate for commercial gambling in states like Pennsylvania (54% on slot machine revenue), and business persists.

So the way to make money is market share--hence the promotions. It also could help get the companies casino partners in other states, raise money from investors, and other cross-sell to other gambling products. 

And bonuses often don't cost the companies anything, because bettors are tempted to keep going:

Sports fans in New York, who have yet to sign up for a sports betting account and want to place at wager at some point should do so over the next few weeks. Van Egmond said he expects “huge promotions [between now and] the Super Bowl,” as operators look to gain an early lead in the market.

Hm, if a dabbler like me could make a "profit," I wouldn't be surprised at much more organized efforts.

Explosive growth

PlayNY, which covers gambling, on 1/14/22 published Looking Up: Has New York Sports Betting Already Surpassed Entire 2021 Handle Total This Week?, suggesting that the online betting has surpassed the total 2021 onsite sports wagering at four upstate casinos. There's more coming:

DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesars and BetRivers all launched Jan. 8, with BetMGM set to join them on Jan. 17. PointsBet is expected to follow shortly thereafter while Bally Bet may be delayed. There have been no timeline updates from WynnBet and Resorts World.

And in the midst of that article, advertising/sponsorship from the four extant mobile betting companies, as shown in the screenshot below.