Sports leagues are learning how to market themselves to Gen-Z fans, from nonsensical TikToks to official partnerships with sports-betting companies. And a new report sheds light on how those efforts are resonating with younger fans.
A September report from the British market research company YouGov analyzed the trends and tendencies among NFL fans aged 18 to 29, and compared them to fans 30 and older. Sports betting, streaming, and fantasy football were three of the topics covered.
The report ranked the top sportsbooks among legal bettors in their 20s. YouGov told Insider that it asked respondents: “When you are in the market next to gamble, from which of the following gambling brands would you consider using?”
While DraftKings and FanDuel — the leaders in market share by a wide margin — predictably held the top two spots, other rankings from the data collected from August 2022 to July 2023 were more surprising.
Barstool Sportsbook, which Penn Entertainment thought would help it thrive with younger audiences, ranked ninth on the list. It could help explain why Penn decided to give up on Barstool and announce ESPN Bet in August.
Meanwhile, Fox Bet, which sputtered to a close this summer after critics claimed Flutter didn’t give it enough resources, was more than twice as popular as Barstool Sportsbook among young audiences, placing fifth on the list.
Still, the relatively low placement of Fox Bet, Barstool Sportsbook, and Bally Bet on the list highlights how media brands have struggled to gain footing in sports betting. Penn will try to break this pattern when it debuts ESPN Bet later this fall.
These are the top 10 online sportsbooks considered by younger audiences:
Here are three other takeaways from the report:
Fans in their 20s are more frequent bettors
The NFL 20-something audience has embraced sports betting as part of the fan experience. While most fans 30 and up said they didn’t bet on sports in the last year, less than a quarter of younger fans said the same.
Compared to NFL fans aged 30 and older, fans in their 20s were three times more likely to place a bet every week.
And only 11% of fans in their 30s spent more than $1,000 annually on sports betting, versus 28% of younger fans.
Younger fans prefer streaming and NFL RedZone
Younger audiences aren’t just adopting sports betting as part of their Sunday afternoons, they’re also turning to newer ways to watch the game.
The report showed 61% of fans between ages 18 and 29 felt that watching sports on streaming platforms was “so much better” than live TV. That number was just 33% among fans aged 30 and up.
Younger fans were also more interested in RedZone, which rotates between different games through the day, than older fan were.
Asked how fans would watch football on Sundays if their favorite team wasn’t playing, 29% of people between ages 18 and 29 chose a curated stream like RedZone, compared to 14% of fans aged 30 and above.
Fantasy football is big among younger audiences, but not so much with older fans
Fantasy football, and the cash prizes and hilarious punishments that can come with it, are central to the NFL experience for younger fans.
Most of these fans said they played in a fantasy league during the 2022 football season, but most older fans didn’t.
Of fans between ages 18 and 29, just 39% said they did not belong to a fantasy football league. For fans 30 and older, that number sat at 74%.
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