Sportsbooks Are Busy. But Are They Building Loyalty?

Football fuels the betting calendar.  

In 2025, NFL wagers are expected to exceed $30 billion, climbing 8.5% over last year. Apps will surge. Promos will spike. First-time users will flood in. 

Most of them, however, won’t stick around. 

They’ll grab the bonus, place a bet, check a score — then close the tab and move on. 

It’s a seasonal flood of engagement, and it’s exactly what platforms claim to want. But short-term spikes don’t build long-term value. If a platform doesn’t make the first experience count, there won’t be a second one. 

Every operator will spend to get users in the door. The ones who keep them will do something harder: simplify the experience, build trust quickly, and leave them with a reason to come back next weekend. 

But how exactly do you do that? 

The casual bettor is the battleground 

For the first time, the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI®) introduced online sports betting to its satisfaction rankings. DraftKings took the top spot with a score of 78 (on a scale of 0-100). BetMGM followed at 77. FanDuel landed just behind at 76. ESPN BET and Fanatics scored 73. Caesars came in last at 69. 

No platform cleared 80. No one distanced the field. 

Instead, the data painted a market still in motion — and a customer base that splits in two. Frequent bettors were generally satisfied. Casual users not as much. The drop was consistent: The less often someone placed a bet, the lower their satisfaction score became. That’s a warning sign, because it’s these users — the ones who bet occasionally, sporadically, maybe just on football — who now make up the bulk of industry growth. 

They’re not chasing obscure lines or arbitrage opportunities. They’re looking for a fast, frictionless experience that feels easy to trust. If a platform doesn’t deliver that immediately, there’s no reason to open the app again. 

The most satisfied users weren’t necessarily the most successful ones. They were the ones who could navigate the app, rely on it to load, understand how their money moved, and walk away with confidence. Mobile app quality earned the highest experience score in the category at 80, with reliability, privacy, and navigation close behind at 79. For casual users especially, those are non-negotiables. If placing a bet feels clunky or confusing, there won’t be a second one. 

So, how can operators differentiate themselves in such a tight market? The most competitive platforms are investing beyond sign-up perks, redesigning app flows, adding smarter tools, and finding new ways to keep bettors engaged once the welcome bonus disappears. 

Betting beyond the bonus 

FanDuel has launched an AI-powered tool that gives users personalized betting tips based on trends, stats, and game context — a feature built for casual bettors who don’t want to dig through data themselves. ESPN BET has started layering in real-time integrations between its streaming content and betting interface, making it easier for fans to engage mid-game. Both are investing in personalization, trying to give users more than just a list of odds and a button to place the bet. 

At the same time, operators are trying to simplify everything else. Streamlined interfaces. Faster onboarding. Clearer cash out options. Fewer taps between opening the app and placing the bet. These refinements don’t get ad time, but they’re often what separates a smooth first experience from a frustrating one. 

That same thinking is reshaping other parts of the experience. DraftKings recently introduced My Budget Builder, a tool that helps users set spending limits and visualize their betting activity over time. BetMGM is rolling out a unified rewards system that connects online behavior with MGM’s broader loyalty program, tying mobile bets to in-person perks. 

These features don’t aim to wow. They aim to work. They help new users feel in control. They add transparency to a process that can otherwise feel opaque. And, ultimately, they create just enough familiarity to warrant a return visit. 

Loyalty doesn’t start with a win 

For casual bettors, the outcome of the bet isn’t what determines satisfaction. It’s everything that happens between logging in and cashing out. When that journey feels smooth, safe, and simple to repeat, users don’t need a win to come back. 

That’s the opportunity in front of operators this fall. Not to flood the market with bigger bonuses or flashier ads, but to close the gap between the first click and the next.  

The users are here. The game is on. And the real competition has already started.