About this app
How to play Mx Mania
A US listing can improve access to capital without making the underlying business more attractive. London has a capital-markets problem. Gambling has an investment problem. The two overlap, but they are not the same thing.
Frank Fantini, founder and publisher emeritus of Eilers-Fantini, thinks the change began before Covid. “There is a tendency to look at the world as pre-Covid and post-Covid,” he says. “But the decline in gaming began earlier than that with the slowdown in new jurisdictions and new projects.”
The US land-based casino market had begun to mature and the number of obvious new markets and projects was shrinking. Online gambling offered a new source of growth, particularly through the expansion of legal sports betting. That opportunity was quickly reflected in share prices.
What is Mx Mania?
A major advantage for traditional sportsbook operators is their ability to aggressively fund customer acquisition and retention bonuses. As EKG points out, prediction markets have “less ability to be generous with bonuses” because users trade against one another rather than against the house.
That creates a stark contrast during peak football season when traditional sportsbooks spend heavily on promotions. Offers ranging from $350 to $365 from major operators make the $25 to $50 promotional matches typically seen on prediction markets appear modest by comparison.
“That said, channel checks indicate prediction markets are spending heavily on digital marketing, including app stores and pay-per-click advertising, which could make our forecast look conservative by the end of the season,” EKG concluded.
How to play Mx Mania
As a lifelong football enthusiast, it comes as little surprise that Lebron James’ transformative move to Polymarket on Labor Day Weekend served as a harbinger for an even broader announcement by the upstart predictions market operator.
Last Saturday, on the same day that Ohio State University made its season debut in college football, James teased a new commercial relationship with Polymarket. James, an ardent Buckeyes’ supporter, posted a brief video on social media platform X, where he announced his partnership with the controversial platform. While college football fans watched Ohio State thrash Miami (Ohio) 56-3, industry stakeholders wondered aloud which athletes would join “King James”.
After all, James indicated in the post that more details would be forthcoming. By Tuesday, the stakeholders received their answer when Polymarket aired a splashy ad that received more than 15.5 million views on James’ X page.
