Despite Daddy–or is it Mummy?–being caught “in flagrante delicto” on historic money laundering breaches, MGM Resorts International-entain joint-venture BetMGM continues to ride the waves of digital success in the USA with an outstanding Q1.
Reaffirming its third-place, 22 percent share of the nation’s iGaming market, and a hefty eight percent slice of U.S. online sports betting action, the operator has reported revenue of US$657 million (£491.53m) for its first quarter of 2025, ending March 31 — up by an impressive 34 percent, year-on-year.
Earlier this month parent MGM was fined US$8.5 million (£6.35m) by the regulatory Nevada Gaming Commission for AML oversights involving compromised Los Angeles bookie Wayne Nix, a gambling fixer who was also recently caught up in the mega betting scandal involving Japanese baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani, of the LA Dodgers.
So the good news of BetMGM’s continuing success must have brought some relief to under MRI, and likewise entain, whose travails have been well documented in these pages.
Momentum
Although BetMGM’s retail revenue declined by 22 percent in the quarter, its handle surged by nearly 30 percent to US$4.08 billion (£3.05bn), compared to Q1 2024, which delivered EBITDA of US$22 million (£16.45m), up by US$153 million (£114.45m), y-o-y.
BetMGM iGaming revenue jumped 27 percent to US$443 million (£331.4m), while online sports betting revenue hit US$194 million (£145.15m), up by an even more spectacular 68 percent, over Q1 last year.
The company remains well on course to achieve its FY2025 revenue target of between US$2.4 billion-US$2.5 billion (£1.79bn-£1.87bn).
“In Online Sports, we are elevating our brand and delivering improved performance, even in the face of unfavorable sports outcomes during key moments in the quarter.
“As we approach May, we remain confident in achieving full year positive EBITDA in 2025, supported by solid underlying activity trends and our successful delivery of positive EBITDA in the first quarter.”
