The American online sports betting industry hosts a sizable number of sportsbook brands, who are all actively competing for market share across several legal sports betting states within the country. Bettors therefore have a wide range of sportsbook options to choose from. Sportsbook operators make tons of efforts in satisfying the users of its platform and beat the competition from other providers. We take a detailed look at two of the country's renowned operators in a comparative analysis.
BetMGM and BetRivers are sportsbook giants in the American sports betting industry. Both online sports betting brands have excelled in several states across the country and could easily rank among the best options available to bettors in the country. The two brands have heavily invested in promotional offers in the last couple of years in a bid to attract more users around the country. The two sportsbooks also operate a loyalty program that is worthy of keeping customers glued to their platform.
BetMGM
BetMGM was founded in 2018 by Nevada-based MGM Resorts International and Entain plc. It went on to become the foremost sportsbook in the United States sports betting industry. Previously known as PlayMGM, the sports betting platform was rebranded as BetMGM and set its path to greatness. MGM Resorts’ partnership with Entain was instrumental in BetMGM’s rapid growth.
The UK company holds a whole lot of experience in online sports betting as its portfolio includes household names like Ladbrokes, Bwin, Coral, PartyPoker and Sportingbet. The proprietary technology offered to BetMGM by Entain, as well as the market access MGM brings into the partnership aided the sportsbook in shooting straight to the top within the highly competitive American sports betting industry.
BetRivers
BetRivers has grown to become one of the country's leading sports betting platforms. Founded by the Chicago-based Rush Street Interactive in 2019, BetRivers is the sportsbook arm of the renowned Rivers Casino which owns retail outlets across several states. BetRivers came to life after its parent company, Rush Street Gaming, established an arm to focus mainly on online gaming known as Rush Street Interactive.
BetRivers has slowly begun to replace SugarHouse sportsbook, which is an earlier online gaming brand founded by Rush Street Gaming, in many American states. The sportsbook offers users a fascinating betting experience, coupled with loads of exciting bonuses. BetRivers is fast spreading across the United States, boasting as a top player in the industry.
Comparison of BetMGM and BetRivers
In comparing the two sportsbooks, we'll take a closer look at where each excels, as well as the areas that need to be improved. There are a couple of categories in which the two heavyweights will be pitted against each other: welcome offers, available sports, deposits & withdrawals, live betting, mobile apps, geographical coverage, and loyalty programs. Each category will be judged by a final verdict.
Welcome Offers
BetMGM’s new customers get a welcome bonus to the platform in the form of risk-free bets. The sportsbook offers users a bet insurance worth up to $1,000 on their first wager after signing up an account. New users are required to deposit funds into their account and wager on any sports market. BetMGM will refund their stake in the form of site credit up to a maximum of $1,000 if the wager returns negative. The sportsbook bet bonus comes with a one-time playthrough requirement and expires in seven days.
BetRivers offers new users a second chance free bet bonus worth up to $500 when they sign up to the platform. The sportsbook provides the welcome bonus to users after they deposit into their account and wager a qualifying bet. Users get refunded their stake in full by the sportsbook if the bet ends up in a loss. For New York bettors, the free bet bonus is worth a maximum of $100 instead. The free bet bonus has an expiration period of 30 days with 1x playthrough requirement.
Winner: BetMGM
Sports Covered
BetMGM and BetRivers currently cover an identical number of sporting events on their platforms. The sports betting brands offer bettors major sports as well as competitions in exhaustive detail. The option to wager on sporting events across several countries around the world is very much available on both betting platforms. However, BetMGM offers a broader coverage of sporting events as bettors can always find the desired bet types and market on the sportsbook.
Winner: BetMGM
Deposit and Withdrawal
BetMGM offers users seven ways to deposit into their account while BetRivers provides users six deposit methods. Methods of depositing on both platforms include cash payment, bank transfer, debit/credit card, PayPal and Play+. Deposits are instant on both sportsbooks and come with zero charges.
BetMGM also offers seven withdrawal methods on its platform while only five are available on BetRivers. Withdrawal methods on both sportsbooks include cash withdrawal, physical check, bank transfer, PayPal and Play+ Card. BetMGM pays out withdrawal requests within 2-5 business days while BetRivers typically process withdrawal within 24 hours in which the request is made.
Winner: BetRivers
Live Betting
BetMGM and BetRivers offer a full-scale live betting section on their platform. The two betting platforms let users wager on games as things unfold. The in-play betting pages on both sportsbook operators are easy to navigate, with lines getting updated in real-time to reflect the situations. Players can bet on live games in sports markets such as football, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, tennis, etc on both sports betting platforms. Both BetRivers and BetMGM also offer live streaming of events to users on their respective platforms.
Winner: Tie
Mobile App
BetMGM and BetRivers own a mobile app which is available on both Android and iOS. BetMGM mobile app has an average user rating of 4.5 on Google Play and 4.8 on the Apple App Store. BetRivers, on the other hand, operates a different app for each state it operates in. Many of the apps are rated below four points on Google Play and slightly above the four points on Apple App Store. The BetMGM mobile app probably has the most elegant interface in the industry, coupled with a lot of functionality that augments users' betting experience.
Winner: BetMGM
Geographical Coverage
BetMGM and BetRivers are widely available to users in a good number of states where sports betting is legal across the United States.
BetMGM is available online to bettors located in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington DC, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
BetRivers on the other hand, is live in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
Winner: BetMGM
Loyalty Programs
BetMGM and BetRivers currently operate fantastic loyalty programs on their platform which appear quite similar. Bettors earn points for placing bets on sporting events and casino games. Both loyalty programs, MGM Rewards and iRush Reward, enable users to trade points for free bet credit and other bonuses. Both programs rank users in tiers, which means users get more reward as they continue to wager on the sportsbook. However, the BetMGM loyalty program offers an added advantage of redeeming bonus points at a wide network of retail casinos and Hyatt hotels.
Winner: BetMGM
