Australian-listed PointsBet started business as a largely unknown quantity in the US about seven months after New Jersey sports betting launched.
In quickly hitting 6% market share six months after launch, its performance bodes will for new jurisdictions, US CEO Johnny Aitken said.
Those new jurisdictions include Illinois, Colorado, and Michigan, in that order.
Land of Lincoln first for PointsBet
Illinois is a state where market share could reach the goal of 10% market share or better, Aitken said. That’s partially because of its partnership with Hawthorne Race Course and the need for in-person registration, he said. The agreement also includes three OTBs throughout the Chicago metro area.
Colorado will then quickly follow Illinois, Aitken added.
PointsBet will then launch at the starting line for Michigan, Aitken said, which could open online sports betting and casino before the end of the year. The state will also get PointsBet’s proprietary online casino platform first. In some aspects it will serve as a proof of concept, though it should be a very strong product from day 1, he said.
“States, commercial casinos, and tribes are really looking at the early success of brands and companies in the New Jersey market,” Aitken said. “… If we can be 6-7% in quick time in New Jersey, it really bodes well and gives us a supreme amount of confidence for those aspirations to be 10%-plus in those more easily accessible states.”
PointsBet could sponsor more sports teams
PointsBet boosted its brand awareness in the Michigan sports betting market last week when it signed to be the Detroit Tigers‘ exclusive official gaming partner.
The multiyear deal includes branding in and around Comerica Park, which will give exposure to more than just baseball fans. Comerica is near the home of the NFL‘s Detroit Lions, Ford Field, as well as Little Caesars Arena, which is home to the NBA‘s Pistons and NHL‘s Red Wings.
“To inject the PointsBet brand around that precinct was of high interest, so that was part of the decision behind partnering with the Tigers,” Aitken said.
PointsBet signed a market-access deal with the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, who operate the Northern Waters casino in the tip of Michigan that sits above Wisconsin. So getting a Detroit-based partner to boost the brand was important, he said.
PointsBet will be looking at a couple of similar opportunities very closely in certain investable states, Aitken added.
Best products will ultimately win
Aitken said it’s no surprise that the DraftKings and FanDuel brands are some of the biggest in the US sports betting market given what they’ve spent in marketing and building a database.
But it always comes back to the product, he said, which he thinks is a good sign for PointsBet. The brand owns all of its technology and already has a lot of experience with US sports given Australia’s love of them, he said.
“We’re not directly going after $5 to $10 sports bettor,” Aitken said. “We’re a premium brand. We’re a brand that understands how important it is to be competitive on price, how important it is to be competitive on promotions, and how important it is to speak to a US client as a US-based operator.”
It also has a few areas of differentiation like its points betting product and various parlay features. That should be enough to keep it in the mix, at the very least, for US bettors.
“We know coming from Australia, it’s very rare for clients to hold one betting account – they can hold two, to three, to four,” Aitken said. “We feel supremely confident in PointsBet being one of those four.”
