By Conor Durnin, Co-Founder of The Unit

For years, the iGaming and sports betting industries have been able to deprioritise product innovation by turning their focus to aggressive customer acquisition spend and market growth. As long as new market opportunities have arisen and promotional activity has remained effective, operators have typically seen strong topline growth with this approach.

A look at some of the most recent earnings calls, however, suggests that the cracks are starting to appear in this model. Many global operators have become aware of this, with shareholder reactions prompting a return to a more customer-centric approach.

In their Q1 2026 earnings update, Flutter acknowledged that FanDuel had a smaller customer base than expected at the end of last year. Their CEO Peter Jackson publicly stated that the business needed to “go back to basics” to counter its issues with retention. Recently, the company reduced full-year EBITDA guidance from approximately $3.3bn to $2.9bn, while broader reporting pointed toward growing pressure around leadership and performance expectations.

If the dominant player in the U.S. market is openly discussing retention challenges, it suggests the industry is dealing with something much larger than a temporary dip.

Of course, marketing spend can drive downloads, registrations, and first deposits, but it doesn’t compensate for a product experience that fails to retain customers. FanDuel’s marketing succeeded in bringing users through the door, but they have admitted a need to cater to changing customer behaviour. Its post-earnings “improvement plan” focuses on functionality and features, and a product-based strategy.

With plenty of choice at their fingertips, modern betting customers can be unforgiving. If onboarding feels clunky, they leave. If live betting experiences feel slow or unintuitive, they don’t stick around. If same-game parlays are frustrating to build, they’re out.

The challenge for operators is that these UX and UI deficiencies can remain a hidden threat until it’s too late. During periods of market expansion, acquisition spend can cover up poor retention metrics and weak customer experiences. But eventually, markets mature, promotional efficiency declines, acquisition costs rise, and shareholders start demanding sustained profitability, rather than growth. At that point, as FanDuel has demonstrated, product quality becomes one of the primary commercial drivers for success.

Furthermore, the emergence and resilience of prediction markets increase the pressure on operators to focus on product quality. For years, the US sports betting market was heavily protected by state-by-state licensing. If an operator secured market access, invested heavily in acquisition, and established early brand recognition in newly regulated states, they were relatively insulated from competition. The barriers to entry were primarily regulatory and financial, rather than product-led.

Prediction markets, which are only bound by national CFTC regulation, threaten to disrupt that dynamic. While the regulatory position is still evolving, prediction markets are able to scale nationally far more quickly than traditional operators were able to in the post-PASPA expansion era. Hence, we’re seeing the likes of DraftKings make a significant push into the category (albeit one that is weighted towards marketing spend, rather than product).

Many of the traditional advantages sportsbooks once relied upon, including licensing barriers, first-mover advantages, and enormous acquisition spend, are becoming less impactful. In a market with lower structural barriers and more consumer choice, product experience becomes even more important. Simply put, more than ever, operators need to build products that customers genuinely prefer to use.

One of the biggest misconceptions in the industry is that operators do not understand where customer expectations are heading. In reality, most are run by very talented people who are keenly aware of the importance of better live betting experiences, smarter personalisation, stronger engagement mechanics, and more seamless user journeys.

The issue tends to be execution capacity. Internal product and engineering teams are often overwhelmed by maintaining existing systems, supporting market launches, handling integrations, and meeting regulatory obligations. That leaves very little room to innovate and create the projects that can be true difference makers.

Naturally, there’s no shortage of product investment among operators, but they may lack the capacity and dynamism to execute meaningful innovation fast enough to keep pace with the kind of changing customer expectations and behaviours that FanDuel recently referenced.

In mature markets, execution speed is a competitive advantage in itself. At The Unit, we partner with operators across regulated markets who are aware of the opportunities of quality product, but who need to outsource to achieve the capability and bandwidth required to execute quickly enough.

That may involve launching new betting products ahead of a major tournament, improving same-game parlay experiences before a new season, scaling frontend capability across multiple jurisdictions, or modernising legacy systems without disrupting existing operations.

FanDuel have been astute enough to recognise that ongoing success isn’t contingent on spend to fuel acquisition, preferring instead to focus on identifying customer behaviours faster, and retain customers more effectively.

The operators that build the infrastructure, partnerships, and delivery models needed to execute quickly, will create sustainable long-term advantages. The rest may learn that while marketing can bring customers through the door, only product quality convinces them to stay.

A new report by Sweeps Pulse estimates American bettors will place total bets amounting to about $3.1 billion on the 2026 FIFA World Cup. This represents the most extensive single sport betting event ever conducted inside the US. The estimate also exceeds the $1.8 billion projected amount for wagers placed on the Super Bowl in 2024. Both amounts represent growth in the legal sports betting market. The 2026 football competition will be held in the US, Canada and Mexico.

Projected Betting Breakdown (2026 FIFA World Cup)

• $1.6 billion via licensed U.S. sportsbook apps

• $920 million via offshore and unlicensed platforms

• $380 million via retail sportsbook locations

• $200 million via sweepstakes and social sports formats

Why This Tournament is Different

There have been no previous World Cups where there is serious U.S. betting volume. This is due to the mobile sports betting being non existent in the U.S. for a large part of the time leading up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. There is now a huge difference when it comes to how mature (and big) the market is in 2026; all major players in the space are already established; they each have their own significant budgets to promote their brand(s); and users have developed four years worth of habits using the NFL, NBA, and College Sports to bet on games.

Another fact is that many of the 2026 World Cup games will be held in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Miami will generate much more local involvement.

The Mobile Factor

In terms of placement (mobile apps) it is estimated that 68% of all World Cup bets will be made using mobile apps. This is compared to an estimate of 41% of all bets taken in the 2018 World Cup. The sportsbooks have committed to spending an estimated $400 million on promotions related to the World Cup. These promotions include but are not limited to; Deposit Matches, Odds Boosts, Free-Bets, and other promotions targeting new soccer bettors.

Key mobile betting statistics:

• Average user session time per game is 23 minutes during major soccer events. Major soccer events average 38% longer than NFL regular season games.

• There is an expectation that live in-game betting will make up 44% of the total World Cup wagered amount.

• FanDuel and DraftKings are expected to take approximately 58% of the licensed app volumes.

The Soccer Audience is Younger and Growing

There are many factors that contribute to an increase in betting at this time. One major factor contributing to the surge in bets at this time is demographics. The data collected from surveys shows that 61% of Gen Z sports bettors have soccer as one of their top 3 wagering sports, while only 29% of bettors who are over 50 years old identify soccer as one of their top 3 wagering sports. This trend demonstrates how the demographics of the sports-betting population are changing.

Formula 1 has announced FanDuel – the premier online gaming company in North America – as its latest Official Betting Operator. The partnership marks the first time Formula 1 will partner with a betting operator in the US as it looks to expand its betting portfolio, pairing the global sport with the country’s leading sportsbook.

Through the partnership, FanDuel’s 17 million US and Canada customers will be able to access its market-leading platform, real-time insights and betting context throughout each race weekend, while its content will be integrated into Formula 1’s age-gated Betting Guide and editorial material across its website and app. The new deal enables eligible fans to get closer to the action than before and experience the sport through even more interactive channels.

Fans will be able to engage with the sport with a wide range of betting options relating to their favorite teams and drivers, including race winners, podium finishes, and head-to-head driver matchups, with additional ways to wager to be announced later this season.

Jonny Haworth, Director of Commercial Partnerships, Formula 1, said: “We’re delighted to welcome FanDuel as our new Official Betting Operator in the United States and Canada – markets that continue to increase their love and engagement with Formula 1. As sports betting becomes an increasing component with how fans, especially in the US, interact with sport, it’s vital we have a strong and well-placed partner to deliver our strategy and fuel our momentum across the market. With tens of millions of fans across the country, FanDuel is yet another avenue that eligible fans can enjoy and experience the thrill of Formula 1.”

Karol Corcoran, Managing Director of FanDuel Sportsbook, said: “Being named an Official Betting Operator of Formula 1 marks an exciting step forward as we enhance our sportsbook product to deliver more interactive experiences for fans. Formula 1 generates an incredible amount of real-time data, and our platform is built to turn that into engaging betting opportunities for fans. This partnership will allow us to deliver even more immersive, data-driven experiences throughout the race weekend.”