Contrary to popular belief, running a sportsbook is a terrible business. Look at draftkings for instance. They’ve gotten gambling legalized nearly everywhere yet are still wildly unprofitable.
I guarantee you that they will never be profitable unless they are granted a monopoly which will never happen.
It’s fairly obvious. If you travel to Vegas and go to the Aria, one of the premier casinos on the strip, you will have to walk around to find the sportsbook. When you do you may be surprised to see that it’s not out in the center of the floor inviting people in, it’s in a dark remote enclosed corner that feels like a large coat room.
Now ask yourself why that would be? And why do casinos devote so much floor space to slot machines and table games?
Betting apps offer the terrible aspects of running a book- relatively unwealthy gamblers with the inability to cross subsidize more profitable games and alcohol along with the added drag of attracting disloyal users who can and will easily use other books to compare lines or take advantage of promos.
For a couple years you could make bank on MLS games simply because the odds were so broken you were almost guaranteed a good payout, it was mathematically impossible to lose money if you bet using multiple apps on the same games.