On the eve of the 2022 NFL Kickoff Game, American sportsbooks are bracing for one of their biggest seasons yet.

Research from the American Gaming Association provided to Front Office Sports shows that a record 46.6 million American adults plan to bet on the NFL for the 2022 season.

According to the most recent census data, that’s 18% of all American adults — up 3% from the 2021 season.

Since then, several states have legalized or expanded sports betting, including Kansas and New York, with Massachusetts expected to follow. More than half — 132 million — of American adults can place legal bets in their states.

• 49% of NFL bettors (23 million) will wager online this season, up 18% from 2021.
• 23% (10.6 million) will bet with an in-person sportsbook, up 2% from last year.
• 13% (6.1 million) say they will wager with a bookie, down 2% from 2021 and 5% from 2020.
• Bookie usage is 50% higher in states without legalized sports betting.

The increasing legality of sports betting is clearly affecting the industry, as 90% of past-year sports bettors say it is very or somewhat important to bet with a legal, regulated sportsbook.

A Safer Bet

“Consumers clearly want legal sports betting options and understand the regulated industry’s foundational commitments to responsibility,” said AGA President and CEO Bill Miller.

For September’s Responsible Gaming Education Month, the AGA is helping bettors find resources to help with problematic gambling — 92% of bettors are aware of at least one responsible gaming resource.

Academy Sports + Outdoors reported a 5.8% decline in second-quarter revenue to $1.69 billion, just short of analysts’ estimates of $1.7 billion.

Comparable sales fell 6%, primarily attributed to fewer transactions year-over-year. Net income fell to $188.8 million from $190.5 million during the same period last year.

E-commerce sales increased 12.1% year-over-year, marking a double-digit increase for the fourth consecutive quarter.

Academy recorded significant growth compared to 2019, the last full year before the pandemic. The company reported record years in 2020 and 2021.

• Net sales increased 36.3% from 2019.
• E-commerce sales jumped 244.5% from 2019.
• Compared to Q2FY2019, pre-tax net income increased by more than 400% to $247 million.

During the quarter, Academy opened one new store, its 261st, with the goal of opening 80-to-100 more over the next five years. The company had merchandise inventories of $1.3 billion, a 17% year-over-year increase and an 8.4% jump from 2019.

Academy ended the quarter with $399.9 million in cash and cash equivalents. The company expects full-year revenue to land between $6.43 billion and $6.63 billion.

Sporting Goods Trend

Academy isn’t the only sporting goods retailer seeing declines.

Dick’s Sporting Goods reported a similar second quarter earlier this month, with net sales falling 5% year-over-year but increasing 38% compared to 2019. Big 5 Sporting Goods posted $253.8 million in second-quarter revenue, falling from $326 million during the same period the year prior.

PWCC Marketplace has secured $175 million to create liquidity for its commercial financing business, which allows sports trading cards to be used as collateral for cash advances and loans. 

The Oregon-based company established an asset-based credit facility led by private credit investment manager WhiteHawk Capital Partners. Finance firm Wingspire Capital and investment banking company D.A. Davidson Companies will also facilitate the credit facility. 

• Since 2021, PWCC has added more than 150,000 registered clients.
• It finances roughly $50 million in cash advances and other loans per month.
• The company’s bank-style vault in Oregon has assets valued at more than $750 million. 

In 2021, e-commerce giant eBay pulled down listings from PWCC — at the time its biggest trading card seller — following claims of shill bidding, which is the act of bidding on one’s own item to increase its price, desirability, or search standing.

PWCC, which denied eBay’s claim based on lack of evidence, likely generated at least $200 million worth of gross sales on eBay in 2021, per Action Network.

In 2019, PWCC worked with law enforcement to investigate the sale of altered vintage cards, after which the company ended its relationship with the implicated dealer.  

Different Direction

In August, eBay agreed to acquire TCGplayer — an online sports trading card marketplace — in a deal that could fetch up to $295 million. The deal is expected to close in 2023.