The rare 'Sports Equinox' arrives amid disappointing sports betting volume trends
mihailomilovanovic/iStock via Getty Images
October 26 is the Sports Equinox in the U.S., which is the designation for the only day or days of the year when the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL all play games. The slate includes World Series Game 3 between the Brewers and Rays, the Dallas Cowboys against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football, nine NBA games, and three NHL games. In addition, the WNBA Finals are on the schedule.
For sportsbooks, that means one of the busiest betting nights of the year in terms of the breadth of betting options. However, the sports betting industry has seen disappointing betting volume growth this year, with industry sources estimating a gain of between 4% or 5% through the end of September. The main reason for the slower growth rate is that sports betting adoption has slowed, with no new states legalizing sports betting in 2026 and Missouri the only one to be added to the list in 2025. The rapid growth of prediction market platforms Kalshi (KALSHI) and Polymarket (POLYMARKET) is also widely believed to have impacted sports betting volume in some states. A pullback on promotional activity by some sportsbook operators is also cited as a factor.
In terms of online sportsbook market share, the top eight players are estimated to be FanDuel (FLUT), DraftKings (DKNG), Fanatics (FANA), BetMGM (MGM) (CZR), Caesars Sportbook (CZR), bet365, theScore Bet (PENN), and Hard Rock Bet.
ETFs related to the sports betting industry include the Roundhill Sports Betting & iGaming ETF (BETZ), VanEck Digital Native Economy ETF (GENZ), and the Corgi Sports Betting & Gambling ETF (ODDZ).
Recommended For You
Register for free to keep reading.
Create a free account to get unlimited breaking news and alerts when your stocks move.
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.