US Study: Sportsbook Apps Losing Fans as Bonus Cash Dries Up

Customers of the biggest sports betting and online casino apps in the United States are growing less satisfied even as the products themselves improve, according to a new study from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). The report points to a straightforward cause: operators have sharply cut back the promotional bonuses that once flooded new bettors’ inboxes.

DraftKings and FanDuel, which together control more than 80 percent of the legal U.S. sports betting market and roughly half of online casino revenue, both saw their satisfaction scores fall this year. DraftKings dropped five points to 74 percent, while FanDuel lost three points to land at the same 74 percent score, according to the ACSI. BetMGM fell four points, putting all three brands in a statistical tie.

A better product, but less goodwill

The ACSI, founded in 1994 at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, bases its index on roughly 200,000 annual customer interviews across more than 400 companies and 40 industries. Its 2026 gambling-sector findings show bettors rating apps as faster, more feature-rich and more secure than a year earlier, yet somehow less satisfying overall.

“Content and technology improved across the board this year, yet in most of these industries, satisfaction still declined or barely moved,” said Forrest Morgeson, the ACSI’s director of research emeritus. “That’s because a better product is the baseline now, it doesn’t move the needle.”

Morgeson argued the fix lies less in adding features and more in simplifying the experience. “Fewer accounts, easier billing, less time managing subscriptions,” he said, comparing gambling apps unfavourably to subscription TV services that streamlined their offerings.

Promotional spending down as much as 20 percent

The report links falling satisfaction to a broader industry retreat from customer-acquisition spending, which fell by as much as 20 percent in early 2026 as operators mature into profitability-focused public companies. “The industry that spent years buying customers is now asking them to pay full price, and satisfaction is registering the difference,” the ACSI concluded.

Jeff Laniado, Optimove’s director of sales for the North American gaming market, told Gambling Insider the shift mirrors what happened with ride-hailing and delivery apps a decade earlier. “It felt like you could ride Uber for free, almost,” he said, recalling New York’s early rideshare era. He noted Caesars once launched a $3,000 deposit bonus in that same state before promotions were “reined in” across the sector.

Bettors who mix products are happiest

Customers who use both sportsbook and casino products on the same app reported 78 percent satisfaction, ahead of sports-only bettors at 75 percent and casino-only users at 70 percent. The share of respondents using both product types grew from 25 to 29 percent year over year, though sportsbook-only users remain the largest single group at 43 percent.

Satisfaction also varied by sport. Auto racing bettors, a small enough group that most states lump their wagers into a catch-all “other” category, posted the highest satisfaction at 82 percent. NFL bettors (77 percent) and NBA bettors (76 percent) ranked last among the 11 sports compared, despite anchoring the two most lucrative U.S. betting markets.

The ACSI figures cover the American market, where 41 jurisdictions now offer legal sports betting following Missouri’s 2025 launch. DraftKings, FanDuel and BetMGM all operate under Ontario licences through iGaming Ontario, meaning shifts in their U.S. customer experience are worth watching for Ontario bettors weighing which app to use. Ontario-regulated operators are required to offer deposit limits, self-exclusion and other responsible-gambling tools regardless of promotional activity.

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