BetMGM wagers that new technology, football can lead to a resurgence

• BetMGM is trying to regain market share after losing ground in sports betting and online casino games.
• It’s banking on technology like modeling and predictive AI features, and a digital wallet that allows people to take home what they win in Nevada.
• CEO Adam Greenblatt told CNBC the company has had a 125% increase in first-time depositors in Las Vegas so far this NFL season.

As BetMGM tries to regain momentum in the gaming market, it’s banking in part on gains in NFL betting and the draw of new technology.

The company is the third largest U.S. sportsbook by market share, but has lost ground in recent years in both sports gambling and igaming, or online casino gambling, where it once held the number one position.

CEO Adam Greenblatt is counting on newly launched technology to woo customers, he told CNBC on Tuesday at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas.

He cited the company’s integration this year of Angstrom, which uses modeling and predictive AI for data analytics, risk and pricing. During the spring baseball season, BetMGM credited the new tech for powering a 209% increase in MLB home run betting over the same time frame a year earlier.

BetMGM in August launched a single, digital wallet for betting in Nevada. It means customers can take home what they win in the same app, which reduces friction. And Greenblatt said it’s already boosting results this football season.

“What we are seeing now, year on year, season to date for NFL, 125% increase in first-time depositors in Vegas. And what’s particularly exciting is that more than 50% of those players who signed up for the first time with BetMGM in Nevada are playing when they get to their home states,” Greenblatt told CNBC.

Though BetMGM fell from first to third place in the lucrative igaming segment, where margins are higher and the potential total addressable market is greater, the company’s chief executive is optimistic he has a winning formula.

“Our players are coming back from week to week in a way, in a more engaged way than in prior periods,” he said.