FanDuel announced Wednesday it is the latest US sportsbook operator to partner with Genius for the use of BetVision.
BetVision lets bettors stream NFL games through Genius sportsbook partners with live stat tracking. Eventually, the stream will include integrated NFL betting odds, in-game betting alerts, and the ability to bet live within the video player itself.
FanDuel joins BetRivers, Caesars and Fanatics as the only US sportsbooks to offer the product so far.
Data from BetVision to date
Genius broke out four stats in Monday‘s third quarter investor presentation to show how BetVision led to more business for the operators in the first four weeks of the NFL season.
In total, in-play handle growth from those streaming games is up 121% since the first week, with all handle up 87%.
More than half of bets (54%) made by streamers were in-play bets. Those live bets accounted for 83% of the handle from streamers.
Genius raises guidance
Genius raised its annual expectations again this year after another quarter of beating internal expectations. The sports data supplier expects $53 million in adjusted EBITDA, which will come at a 12.9% margin on $412 million in expected revenue.
Those expectations are up 29.3% for adjusted EBITDA and 5.4% for revenue from the original guidance provided for 2023.
CEO Marke Locke also confirmed on the investor call the company still expects to be cash flow-positive for the second half of this year after seeing positive cash flow in Q3.
Long-term margins on track
Locke said the company remains confident in its ability to get to long-term EBITDA margins of 30% or more. That comes from the high visibility into the company’s fixed-cost base and the growing demand for Genius products from sportsbooks, leagues, broadcasters, brands, and sponsors.
Locke also pointed to BetVision as a “clear demonstration” that Genius can grow live betting volume to 70% to 80% like in other mature markets compared to the historic 20% to 25% seen in the US. Genius takes a 5% to 6% share of in-play revenue, which is “roughly three times higher than our pre-match revenue share,” Locke added.
Despite the raised guidance and confident management, the GENI stock is still trying to claw its way back to pre-earnings levels. GENI closed Tuesday at $4.96, down 5.9% from its pre-earnings closing price last Friday.
Genius CEO excited for new launches
Hard Rock Bet is a data customer of Genius, which means the return of sports betting in Florida is a positive for the company. The brand relaunched last week, but only for customers that bet during its original launch in November 2021 before it was quickly shut down.
“So, at the moment, we’re sort of viewing it in very, very positively,” Locke said. “It was a significant opportunity, but we’ve just been cautious to begin with. And overall, we think this is very positive.”
He answered in a similar way about Penn Entertainment’s ESPN Bet, which went live Tuesday, saying the launch is “very exciting” to the business.
