SuperBook Sports announced it would be exiting eight states including Maryland, which leaves its sports-themed restaurant and lounge at Camden Yards as a reminder of what was once an optimistic view of its brief legacy in the Old Line State.
Gone But Not Forgotten…Yet
SuperBook and the Baltimore Orioles announced a long-term partnership back in 2022 as a prerequisite for the sportsbook to gain access to Maryland’s mobile sports betting market. Part of that partnership included a SuperBook branded restaurant and lounge at Camden Yards, replacing Dempsey’s Bew Pub, that welcomed thirsty and hungry fans at the Orioles’ ballpark.
“The sports lounge will be highlighted by a social atmosphere, including food and beverages, as well as a comfortable seating [area] for fans to enjoy the game and place live sports bets,” the initial news release said. “It will feature the amenities and viewing experience of a live sportsbook with the ability to place bets from the palm of your hand.”
It would take another year, April 2023 to be precise, before the Las Vegas-based home of the world-renowned NFL handicapping SuperContest began accepting mobile bets in the state. But its tenure didn’t last long as the company announced late last month that it was no longer accepting bets.
However, the 2024 MLB season is nearly three-quarters of the way through and nothing will change for the remainder of this season, including SuperBook’s signage throughout the ballpark. Although anyone within the lounge could make mobile bets, which includes access to competitors, one possible design flaw was that the venue did not feature any retail sports betting kiosks that would be exclusively received by SuperBook.
Going Back Home
The SuperBook has enjoyed great prosperity at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino but that did not translate into winning market share outside its home state. Maryland is just one of eight states that SuperBook will be exiting, with the other seven being Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia.
Although financial reports revealing market share on a sportsbook-by-sportsbook basis are not available in many states, it is known that SuperBook attracted less than 0.2% of the total betting handle in states where a breakdown is available.
The consolidation of the U.S. sports betting market has become increasingly common as many of the smaller sportsbooks cannot compete with the duopoly of FanDuel and DraftKings which controls 73% of the mobile market.
Future Outlook
The investment banking firm, Citizens JMP Securities, issued a report last month estimating that 74 mobile sports betting companies had entered the U.S. since its inception in 2018. Of those, 43 are active while 18 have shuttered their operations and 10 more are peeling back or exiting the market entirely.
“We do not expect exits to materially slow in the coming years with elevated cost of capital, an increase in consumer protection/regulation, and market share consolidating amongst the larger players,” JMP’s Jordan Bender wrote.
Betfred is another book that will be exiting the market shortly, which will leave Caesars Sportsbook, FanDuel, DraftKings, BetRivers, BetMGM, Fanatics Sportsbook, Crab Sports, ESPNBET and betPARX battling each other for Maryland’s sports betting dollars.
