A group of legal sports betting operators continued to compete during Super Bowl LVII.
Usability Digital — a business transformation consultancy company for operators — analyzed the availability of the top three in-play markets for some of America’s top sportsbooks during February’s Super Bowl matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs.
By comparing the availability of moneyline, spread, and total markets, Usability Digital has been able to examine the in-play trading strategies online betting sites use to gain an edge on bettors.
Using five New Jersey-based sports betting operators, which included FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, and Barstool Sportsbook, Usability Digital’s analysis can be applied to any sportsbook, betting market, or pricing analysis model across the world. The data does take into account latency times and the use of both web and mobile wagering platforms.
FanDuel — the No. 1 sportsbook in the U.S. in terms of market share at nearly 50% — led the entire group across all in-play markets for the total number of suspension incidents during Super Bowl LVII, which saw the Chiefs capture their second title in the last four seasons. The Big Game saw FanDuel post over 100 suspension incidents for each of its three in-play markets.
Barstool, which uses the same frontend as Unibet, finished second amongst the five sportsbooks for total suspensions, which occurred under its moneyline market at 80 incidents. The Penn Entertainment-owned operator saw its spread and total in-play markets report 70 suspensions during Super Bowl LVII. BetMGM finished third with its moneyline in-play market reporting roughly 75 suspensions, while its total and spread markets had around 65 incidents.
Caesars came in third for total suspensions with its spread in-play market reporting more than 20 incidents. The operator’s moneyline and total markets were both under that mark. DraftKings rounded out the Top 5 with the least total suspensions at under 15 incidents for each market.
Lengthy suspensions
Despite FanDuel’s flurry of suspensions during Super Bowl LVII, the length of the sportsbook’s incidents was shorter than its competitors. Caesars saw its total market be suspended an average of 45 seconds between the first and third quarters. Its spread market averaged nearly 40 seconds of suspension, while its moneyline options were suspended for close to 15 seconds.
Barstool and Unibet had the second-longest suspension times with its spread and total markets averaging nearly 30 seconds of disruption during the first three quarters of the Super Bowl. DraftKings emerged as the top operator with an average suspension time of under 25 seconds.
Usability Digital’s analysis has pinpointed the strategy sportsbooks deploy when providing bettors with the opportunity to wager on one of the world’s most popular sporting events. DraftKings with its few number of suspensions uses a high availability approach to lure in live bettors, while FanDuel and Barstool use caution when offering various in-play markets.
Operators like BetMGM and Caesars remain inconsistent due to liability safety limits and the technical capabilities of their platforms. The five sportsbooks also take different approaches to handling events throughout the course of a game, such as fumbles, sacks, and touchdowns. As operators diversify their offerings, in-play market availability will continue to diversify and improve.
