Statista recently reported that revenue in the online sports betting market will likely reach $45.18bn in 2024, making it the most successful year ever for the industry.
Two of the biggest drivers behind this booming industry are DraftKings and FanDuel.
If you speak to a friend or random sports fan and ask them which site they’re using to place bets, the odds (no pun intended) are that they’ll say one of these two platforms.
Simply put, DraftKings and FanDuel are the “go-to” sites for all-things related to sports betting, whether you’re looking to bet on the Super Bowl, a random NBA game, or any other sport that you love.
How Did DraftKings and FanDuel Achieve a Combined 65% Market Share?
Research from sports betting industry experts BettingTools found that DraftKings and FanDuel hold a combined 65% of the sports betting market, which is a crazy number considering there are hundreds of other sports betting sites on the market.
When it comes to how these two sports betting juggernauts achieved their market share, they both followed similar blueprints that ultimately enabled them to reach the top of the pyramid.
Some of the key factors include:
✅ Huge advertising campaigns
✅ Player incentives
✅ Cutting-edge innovations
✅ Competitive odds
✅ Excellent apps
We’re only scratching the surface here, though, so let’s do a deeper dive into these factors and how they’ve provided both sites with a monopoly over the sports betting industry.
Huge Advertising Campaigns
Marketing is one of the most important things if you’re looking to be a success in the sports betting world.
In 2022 alone, FanDuel spent over $1bn – yep, billion – on advertising campaigns. DraftKings then decided to top this in 2023, spending $1.2bn. In a nutshell, both companies are funneling insane amounts of money into their campaigns, mainly because they attract millions of new players while also helping to grow brand recognition.
Over the years, FanDuel has used countless big-name celebrities to promote their platform, including the likes of Snoop Dogg, Floyd Mayweather, and Charles Barkley. As is tradition, FanDuel also splashed out on yet another popular ad at the 2024 Super Bowl LVIII, which featured John Cena and Rob Gronkowski in hilarious fashion.
Similarly, DraftKings never hesitates to work with mainstream influencers for its marketing campaigns, such as Kevin Hart and NBA legend Lebron James. Specifically, these two featured in a popular 2024 advertisement by the company, which saw them sat on opposite sofas discussing the ‘Bet $5 get $200 instantly’ offer that’s currently available via the site.
Player Incentives
One of the biggest truths in the sports gambling world is that players are more likely to join a betting site when they’re incentivised to do it.
This is something that DraftKings and FanDuel are aware of, which is why they pump out new incentives on an almost monthly basis. These incentives often include cash bonuses, free trials (FanDuel has recently introduced a 3-week trial of the ‘NFL Sunday Ticket’), and more.
Naturally, DraftKings and FanDuel make their incentives as big and attractive as possible in order to stop players from joining other sports betting sites. They also offer other clever incentives, too, such as low minimum deposits. With DraftKings, the current minimum deposit is $5, which has proven to be a great way for the site to attract more budget-conscious gamblers who don’t want to bet as much money.
Cutting-Edge Innovations
In order to stay on top, innovation is key in the gambling sector.
If you can successfully craft a lane for yourself and stay in it, you’ve already won half of the battle, which is exactly what DraftKings and FanDuel have done.
With FanDuel, you have a gambling site with superb in-play betting options, an excellent loyalty program, and the ability to win rewards on a fairly frequent basis. All three factors combined even led to FanDuel being named the ‘Most Innovative Sportsbook’ by sports journalists.
DraftKings is a little different in the fact that it’s a DFS (Daily Fantasy Sports) specialist. If you’re looking for DFS, DraftKings is the ultimate market leader and has created one of the most unique and innovative DFS experiences for users to enjoy. Not to mention, DraftKings has also optimized the use of AI technology over recent years to help users place bets more easily and also craft more targeted ad campaigns, which has proven to be highly effective for them.
Competitive odds
DraftKings and FanDuel are the masters of competitive odds.
Whenever you’re looking for the best odds on a particular outcome (e.g. the Super Bowl) there’s a very high chance that one of these platforms will have the best available odds. And if they’re not the best odds on the market, they’ll at least be very close.
At the same time, FanDuel and DraftKings are both known for their odds boosts. At random times, players can take advantage of odd boosts, which is when odds for specific games or in-game events are increased, making the overall profit higher.
Excellent Apps
You won’t be surprised to learn that the DraftKings app has a 5-star rating. The same also applies to FanDuel’s app, with both apps being available on iOS and Android.
If you ever use one of these apps, you’ll quickly find that they’re ultra-fast, have excellent user interfaces, and provide you with instant notifications, making for an excellent sports betting experience, whether you’re relaxing at home or traveling to a game.
Both apps have been downloaded millions of times and are top of both app stores when it comes to sports betting, so they’re very much ‘safe bets’ if you’ve never downloaded a sports betting app before.
Conclusion
Since the start of the 2010s, DraftKings and FanDuel have skyrocketed to the top of sports betting. This wasn’t by accident, as the above-mentioned factors, from huge advertising campaigns to having excellent apps, have ultimately provided them the platform to do this. And over the coming decades, their dominance will almost certainly continue, so you can expect plenty more innovation from these iconic sports betting brands.
