Stifel’s March US Online Gambling Tracker reported that online sports betting handle fell about 3% year on year in March, following a roughly 2% rise in February. It said March gross gaming revenue increased as operator hold rates approached 9.6%, while February revenue declined about 4%.
The figures show operators facing weaker betting volumes while revenue performance varies with hold rates.
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New Jersey sportsbooks recorded more than $1bn in sports betting handle in March, reportedly ending a one-month lull. Revenue rose 23% year on year to $87.6m, while FanDuel led operators with $32.2m, up 37.3% from a year earlier.
US online betting handle fell about 3% year on year in March, while gross gaming revenue increased as hold rates approached 9.6%, according to an industry tracker compiled by Stifel analysts. The tracker also reported online casino revenue growth of around 20% year on year in February; analysts noted that state reporting differences limit comparisons.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission ordered designated contract markets to end US geofencing that conflicts with impartial-access requirements within 30 days, or explain why they cannot comply. The order puts exchanges offering sports-event contracts at odds with court orders restricting Kalshi in several states and on tribal lands. Chairman Michael S. Selig said derivatives markets must operate nationally.
Within 30 days, designated contract markets must end geofencing restrictions in the U.S. that violate “impartial access requirements,” or give reasons they cannot comply, the CFTC has ordered. CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig said in a statement that derivatives markets "must operate on a uniform basis at a national scale" to serve the purposes of the Commodity Exchange Act.
DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics and PrizePicks have restricted some prediction market products in Utah after Utah Attorney General Derek Brown filed 14 criminal charges against Kalshi. DraftKings and FanDuel retain financial contracts, while Fanatics plans to stop taking trades in the state on 4 November; PrizePicks has disabled Team Picks and Culture Picks.
Utah's 14 criminal charges against Kalshi have led DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics and PrizePicks to pare back what they offer in prediction markets there. How far each operator goes differs.
The Pentagon issued a directive barring military personnel from trading on prediction markets using nonpublic information. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that such trades could compromise national security and expose service members to disciplinary action or prosecution. Lawmakers also sent letters to BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, Fanatics, Kalshi and Polymarket expanding an inquiry into VIP programmes.