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- During BetMGM’s Q3 2026 earnings call, CEO Adam Greenblatt revealed the operator is intentionally pulling back marketing spend in sportsbook-only states to focus on multi-product iGaming states and “higher-value” players.
- Despite a 3% drop in active players, this targeted strategy helped drive a 7% revenue increase, as BetMGM navigates intense sector competition from prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket—an issue Greenblatt hopes the U.S. Supreme Court will soon clarify.
BetMGM said it pulled back marketing in sportsbook-only states and focused more heavily on higher-value customers, a strategy the operator says helped lift third-quarter revenue despite a decline in active players.
The shift matters because it shows how a major U.S. sportsbook is responding to heavier competition, including from prediction markets, by prioritizing profitability and player value over broad customer acquisition. BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt said the company expects that competitive pressure to remain in place until at least mid-2027.
BetMGM, the joint venture between MGM and Entain, reported $710 million in third-quarter revenue, up 7% year over year. iGaming revenue rose 6% to $483 million, while sports revenue increased 7% to $216 million. Active players, however, fell 3% to 878,000.
Greenblatt said on the earnings call that the company is concentrating spend on iGaming, multi-product states and “higher-value, higher-staking players” in online sports betting, while reducing investment in some lower-return sportsbook-only markets.
“As we have previously highlighted, the competitive environment remains intense, particularly due to investment by unregulated and illegal operators offering sports betting,” Greenblatt said.
He added: “This more targeted approach is working.”
Revenue rose even as player counts slipped
The results suggest BetMGM is accepting lower player volume in exchange for stronger economics from more valuable customers. Greenblatt also pushed back on the idea that the company was under-investing.
“This question of under-investment, we spend no time thinking about it,” he said on the call.
The company’s comments come as prediction market operators such as Kalshi and Polymarket remain part of the competitive conversation around sports-event contracts. Greenblatt said BetMGM expects the current environment to stay intense until at least mid-2027.
BetMGM points to courts and regulators as next key watch items
Greenblatt said BetMGM hopes the Supreme Court will help clarify whether states can ban sports event contracts during the 2026-27 session.
“I’m very much looking forward to this whole ambiguity being clarified by the Supreme Court,” Greenblatt said, adding that the company expects to see guidance during that session.
He also referenced a CFTC rule excluding event contracts on online casino games from the definition of a swap, which leaves them subject to state gaming laws. But Greenblatt said that rule could change again, calling it “cosmetics in pursuit of survival.”
Investors initially reacted positively to the update. Entain shares rose more than 5% in London after the results were published before giving back those gains by the end of the trading day. MGM shares were up 0.6% to $29.49.
Source: As reported by Daniel O’Boyle.
