DraftKings and FanDuel continue to dominate the expanding US sports betting market, where the rising popularity of parlays, particularly among younger bettors, signals even greater growth potential, according to a sports betting survey from Morgan Stanley.
The investment bank’s third biannual sports betting survey, conducted in October 2024, highlights the sports betting industry’s continued momentum across older and newer states. It found participation, frequency, and bet size are growing among all age, gender, and income demographics.
The report also demonstrates continued market share consolidation, driven by ease of use — the top priority for nearly half of the 3,000 respondents.
How key demographics bet
Younger bettors in the 21-34 age range remain a key cohort, with 60% placing at least three bets a week, compared to the overall average of 47%.
The age group also led in average bet size, wagering approximately $58 per bet, compared to the $49.50 overall average. Bettors 65 or older tend to place the smallest bets at around $31.
Bettors making between $50,000 and $99,000 bet most often, with 48% betting at least once a week, according to the survey. Of that group, 16% said they bet daily, which was nearly consistent across all income demographics.
Women tend to place larger bets at $51.10 on average compared to $48.60 for men. Women were found to represent 32% of the total market, slightly down from Morgan Stanley’s 2022 survey but a considerable increase from 21% in 2020.
Sports betting demographics by app
ESPN Bet has the largest proportion of younger users, with 44% of its audience in the 21-34 age range, followed closely by bet365 at 43%.
Caesars and BetMGM, which have honed in on marketing strategies tied to their physical properties over the last few years, had the highest percentage of the 65+ demographic at 5% each.
Fanatics boasts the largest share of women bettors at 39%, just ahead of Caesars at 38%. In contrast, bet365 has the most male-dominated user base, with just 21% of its bettors being female. DraftKings and FanDuel were next with women accounting for just 22% of each book’s player base.
NFL betting remains the most popular, with 85% of respondents saying they typically bet on the league, followed by the NBA at 55%. Every major sport, except horse racing and auto racing, experienced growth in betting volume.
Parlays most popular with younger bettors
Roughly 60% of respondents aged 21-34 said parlays or same-game parlays are their favorite type of wager, the highest percentage of any demographic. This was Morgan Stanley’s first report monitoring parlay data.
More specific data is scant, but through the first eight months of the year, sportsbooks held nearly 20% on parlays in Illinois and 14.4% in Colorado, according to reports from each state. Neither figure accounts for SGPs, though even without them, each is significantly higher than the national average of 8.6% on total bets.
Morgan Stanley noted that the higher hold rate and parlay popularity among younger bettors suggest a promising long-term revenue opportunity as that group ages and an even more promising one should books actively market the bet type to older demographics as well.
Newer sports betting states skew parlay-heavy
Newer markets like Louisiana and Maryland reported higher percentages of parlay bets, with parlays accounting for 65% and 63% of wagers, respectively.
Conversely, parlays are less popular in more mature markets such as Indiana and Pennsylvania, where straight bets make up 66% and 62% of wagers in each respective state.
Futures bets, such as an NBA team’s win total or the next Super Bowl champion, were most popular in Arizona, accounting for 12% of all wagers, an outlier compared to every other state at 2%.
Accessibility drives sports betting loyalty
DraftKings was the most popular app, with 68% of respondents saying they had used it in the past six months, an increase from 56% in 2022. FanDuel was close behind at 64%, up from 49%.
Both were named the easiest to use, now the most important factor for bettors, according to the survey.
A leading 48% of respondents cited ease of use as their top priority in determining which app they bet with. That was a notable jump from 2022, when bonuses and promotions were the No. 1 driving factor.
Promising signs for BetMGM
BetMGM, while still a distant third at 39% of respondents using it in the past six months, showed steady improvement from 2022 when it was at 32%. It was the only operator outside of DraftKings and FanDuel to improve its standing since the last Morgan Stanley survey.
Promotions remain a major draw for BetMGM users, but recent improvements to its app have also driven growth, the survey found. These advancements, powered by strategic investments like acquiring Angstrom Sports and integrating it ahead of the NFL season, likely contributed to its rising favorability in the ease-of-use category.
Morgan Stanley noted that these enhancements could stabilize BetMGM’s market share and potentially position it for further growth as competition intensifies.
ESPN Bet, Fanatics draw concern over promos
Fanatics and ESPN Bet were viewed as the most reliant on promotions, with more than 50% of their users identifying bonuses as the primary reason for choosing the platforms.
Morgan Stanley noted that this strategy may limit long-term revenue potential. While promotions are effective in acquiring users, sustained growth in net gaming revenue will likely depend on apps offering other features to retain bettors as promo budgets decline.
