Online gambling sites pump $153.6 million into local TV

Online gambling sites pump $153.6 million into local TV

Article brief provided by Sportico
  • Anthony Crupi, Sportico
May 7, 2021 11:37 AM
  • Anthony Crupi, Sportico

If much of the early chatter regarding legalized gambling’s effect on the U.S. sports industry is informed by a sort of technocratic wishful thinking—until the live-streaming experience earns its prefix, in-game betting remains a hyped-up hypothetical—the emerging segment already looks like a winner for local TV.

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According to Nielsen ad-spend data, online sportsbooks and gambling sites in the first quarter poured $153.6 million into local station coffers, an investment that has made the nascent industry one of the biggest players in the spot TV space.

Leading all comers are FanDuel and DraftKings, both of which operate brick-and-mortar sportsbooks. FanDuel in the past quarter, ending March 31, invested $57.7 million in local TV ads, good for 38% of the category’s overall spend, while DraftKings scarfed up $43.6 million in local station buys.