{"id":5859,"date":"2025-09-10T14:14:18","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T11:14:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fortismedia.com\/en\/?p=5859"},"modified":"2026-02-25T12:53:03","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T10:53:03","slug":"how-sportsbook-get-traffic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fortismedia.com\/en\/articles\/how-sportsbook-get-traffic\/","title":{"rendered":"How Do the TOP 5 U.S. Sportsbooks Get Traffic?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Who Are the Top 5?<\/h2>\n

To establish a clear foundation for this analysis, we begin by identifying the top five U.S. sportsbooks based on their 2024 annual revenue. This approach ensures that our comparison is grounded in financial performance, which reflects both market share and operational scale. While traffic data is also considered for context, revenue remains the primary metric for ranking.<\/p>\n

The top five sportsbooks by revenue in 2024 are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Sportsbook<\/strong><\/td>\nRevenue (2024)<\/strong><\/td>\nTraffic (2024)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
FanDuel<\/td>\n$5.729B<\/td>\n172.3M visits<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
DraftKings<\/td>\n$4.768B<\/td>\n173.2M visits<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
BetMGM<\/td>\n$2.102B<\/td>\n42.93M visits<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Caesars<\/td>\n$1.163B<\/td>\n17.5M visits<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ESPN Bet<\/td>\n$0.390B<\/td>\n9.51M visits<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Source: <\/em>SimilarWeb<\/em><\/a> (traffic), <\/em>Annual Reports<\/em><\/a> (revenue)<\/em><\/p>\n

While\u202fFanDuel\u202fleads in revenue,\u202fDraftKings\u202fslightly surpasses it in total traffic, indicating a strong user acquisition strategy.\u202fBetMGM,\u202fCaesars, and\u202fESPN Bet\u202fround out the top five, each with a notable presence in both revenue and user engagement.<\/p>\n

This ranking provides the framework for the remainder of the article, which will focus on analyzing traffic trends and acquisition strategies during the first half of 2025.<\/p>\n\n

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Overall Traffic Comparison<\/h2>\n

To understand the scale of user engagement across leading U.S. sportsbooks, we analyzed total website visits during the first half of 2025 (January through June). The data, sourced from SimilarWeb, offers a clear view of how each brand performs in terms of digital reach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Sportsbook Website<\/strong><\/td>\nTotal Visits (H1 2025)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
draftkings.com<\/td>\n76.56M<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
fanduel.com<\/td>\n68.202M<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
betmgm.com<\/td>\n20.933M<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
sportsbook.caesars.com<\/td>\n6.261M<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
espnbet.com<\/td>\n7.865M<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Source: SimilarWeb<\/em><\/p>\n

DraftKings\u202fleads in overall traffic, with over 76 million visits in the first half of 2025, followed closely by\u202fFanDuel\u202fwith 68 million. Despite FanDuel\u2019s higher revenue in 2024, DraftKings\u2019 superior traffic volume suggests a broader user base or more frequent engagement.\u202fBetMGM\u202fmaintains a strong third position, while\u202fCaesars\u202fand\u202fESPN Bet\u202ftrail with more modest traffic figures.<\/p>\n

This comparison highlights the importance of evaluating both revenue and traffic when assessing market position. While revenue reflects monetization success, traffic provides insight into brand visibility and user acquisition effectiveness.<\/p>\n

Composition of Traffic Sources<\/h2>\n

Understanding how users arrive at sportsbook websites reveals the strategic emphasis each brand places on different acquisition channels. For this analysis, we examined traffic composition across six primary sources:\u202fDirect,\u202fOrganic Search,\u202fPaid Search,\u202fReferral,\u202fDisplay Ads, and\u202fSocial. While\u202fEmail\u202ftraffic was also tracked, its volume was negligible and excluded from comparative analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Domain<\/strong><\/td>\nDirect<\/strong><\/td>\nOrganic Search<\/strong><\/td>\nPaid Search<\/strong><\/td>\nReferral<\/strong><\/td>\nDisplay Ads<\/strong><\/td>\nSocial<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
draftkings.com<\/td>\n52.5M<\/td>\n15.9M<\/td>\n1.3M<\/td>\n3.5M<\/td>\n64,500<\/td>\n3.4M<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
fanduel.com<\/td>\n47.9M<\/td>\n14M<\/td>\n0.25M<\/td>\n3.9M<\/td>\n0.751M<\/td>\n1.4M<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
betmgm.com<\/td>\n13.5M<\/td>\n4.9M<\/td>\n0.617M<\/td>\n1.3M<\/td>\n72,500<\/td>\n0.512M<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
sportsbook.caesars.com<\/td>\n4.3M<\/td>\n0.261M<\/td>\n27<\/td>\n1.7M<\/td>\n633<\/td>\n53,500<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
espnbet.com<\/td>\n5.9M<\/td>\n1.2M<\/td>\n59,800<\/td>\n0.536M<\/td>\n23,100<\/td>\n172,100<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Source: SimilarWeb<\/em><\/p>\n

Direct traffic\u202fdominates across all five sportsbooks, accounting for the majority of visits. This suggests strong brand recognition and habitual user engagement, particularly for\u202fDraftKings\u202fand\u202fFanDuel, which lead in this category.<\/p>\n

Organic search\u202fis the second most significant channel, with DraftKings and FanDuel again leading, indicating robust SEO strategies and high visibility in search engine results.<\/p>\n

Referral traffic\u202fplays a notable role for\u202fCaesars, contributing over 27% of its total traffic, likely driven by partnerships and affiliate networks.\u202fFanDuel\u202falso performs well in this category.<\/p>\n

Display advertising\u202fshows a sharp contrast: FanDuel invested heavily in this channel, generating over 750,000 visits, while Caesars and ESPN Bet saw minimal traffic from display ads.<\/p>\n

Social traffic\u202fis particularly strong for\u202fDraftKings, which leads with 3.4 million visits, followed by FanDuel and ESPN Bet. This suggests effective engagement on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.<\/p>\n

Overall, the composition of traffic sources reflects each brand\u2019s strategic priorities. DraftKings and FanDuel maintain a balanced mix across channels, while others rely more heavily on specific sources such as referrals or social media.<\/p>\n

SEO<\/h2>\n

Search engine optimizatio<\/a>n (SEO)<\/a> remains a foundational pillar in the digital acquisition strategies of leading U.S. sportsbooks. Organic search traffic not only reflects brand visibility and domain authority but also signals the effectiveness of iGaming content marketing<\/a>, technical optimization, and long-term investment in discoverability. For operators looking to understand how to build visibility and scale organic reach, studying iGaming traffic<\/a> patterns is essential.<\/p>\n

Organic Traffic Overview (H1 2025) <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Sportsbook Website<\/strong><\/td>\nOrganic Search Traffic<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
draftkings.com<\/td>\n15.9M<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
fanduel.com<\/td>\n14M<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
betmgm.com<\/td>\n4.9M<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
sportsbook.caesars.com<\/td>\n0.261M<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
espnbet.com<\/td>\n1.2M<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Source: SimilarWeb<\/em><\/p>\n

DraftKings\u202fleads in SEO traffic, supported by a robust content ecosystem and technical SEO practices. Internal audits show that DraftKings has invested in optimizing meta titles with high-intent keywords like \u201cbet online,\u201d which Google interprets synonymously with \u201cbetting\u201d\u202ftheir structured data usage, while not a direct ranking factor, helps communicate page context more effectively to search engines.<\/p>\n

FanDuel, close behind, benefits from its branded content hub, The Duel, which serves as a central SEO asset. However, analysis reveals that FanDuel\u2019s meta descriptions are often excessively long, leading to truncation in search results and potentially lower click-through rates. Despite this, FanDuel\u2019s domain authority and consistent publishing cadence keep it competitive.<\/p>\n

BetMGM\u202fshows moderate SEO performance, likely bolstered by its affiliation with MGM Resorts and cross-promotional content. However, its visibility lags behind the top two, suggesting opportunities to improve keyword targeting and content depth.<\/p>\n

ESPN Bet, a newer entrant, has made notable progress with over 1.2 million organic visits. Its performance is likely enhanced by ESPN\u2019s broader media ecosystem, which provides inherited authority and visibility. Still, its SEO footprint remains limited compared to more established competitors.<\/p>\n

Caesars, with only 260,700 organic visits, appears to underinvest in SEO. This may reflect a strategic focus on paid and referral channels, but it also signals missed opportunities in capturing high-intent search traffic.<\/p>\n

Strategic Insights<\/h3>\n