Sportsbooks Slashing Post-Super Bowl Promo Spending
Posted on: March 26, 2026, 01:04h.
Last updated on: March 26, 2026, 01:04h.
- February promotional spending is down dramatically in at least six states
- Post-Super Bowl pruning is typical, but 2026 declines are large
- Just two operators increased promotional expenditures last month
With football being the most wagered on sport in the US, it’s not surprising that sportsbook operators usually dial back promotional spending following the Super Bowl, but this year’s declines are particularly dramatic.
In a new report, Eilers & Krejcik Gaming (EKG) highlights February data from six states confirming sportsbook operators reduced February customer acquisition and retention spending by an average of 25% last month compared with February 2025. Those lower expenditures are a good news/bad news scenario. On the gloomy side, there are correlations between promotional spending and handle.
The reduced promo spend has had a knock-on effect on handle, down 5% year-over-year,” notes the research firm.
The states highlighted in the EKG dataset are Connecticut, Kansas, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming. The largest February decline in promo spending was seen in Connecticut (45%) while the smallest dropped occurred in Michigan (less than 10%).
Some Good News on Sportsbook Promo Spending
There are multiple silver linings in gaming companies’ reduced sports wagering promotional spending, including the fact that it’s arriving against the backdrop of perceived competitive threats from prediction markets.
Various data points confirm sports event contracts are pivotal to the growth of yes/no exchanges, but there’s also ample evidence suggesting that in states where online sports betting is legal, bettors prefer sportsbooks to prediction markets and that the latter aren’t taking significant market share from the former. Said differently, if prediction markets were wresting market share from sportsbooks, it can be argued gaming companies wouldn’t be cutting promo spending.
Then there’s the matter of profitability, which has been a marquee issue as it relates to promo expenditures for several years. Long gone are the days in which investors tolerated operators spending big in the name of top line growth. They’re demanding profitability and elevated promo spending gets in the way of that objective.
“Spend is down across the board, signaling confidence in underlying demand and a continued focus on profit over volume,” adds EKG.
Two Up, Two Down
The EKG data indicate that in February, just two operators increased customer-related spending. Those are Caesars Sportsbook and Rush Street Interactive’s BetRivers, but EKG notes the increase is likely the result of those operators coming off low bases in February 2025.
On the other hand, the biggest drops in February 2026 promotional spending were found at Fanatics (62%) and Penn Entertainment’s TheScore (55%).
EKG didn’t get into reasons for those declines, but it’s possible that Fanatics is diverting some of that spending to its prediction markets offering. In the case of Penn, the operator may be attempting to bolster its financial outlook, show the investment community it’s taking a more prudent approach to sports betting, directing some of that spending to iGaming, or all three.
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