MGM Resorts beats quarterly profit estimates on steady sports betting business

Feb 5 (Reuters) – Casino operator MGM Resorts International reported fourth-quarter profit above Wall Street estimates on Thursday, driven by strong performance in its online sports-betting business.

Sports betting in the United States has gained traction, driven by increasing state-level legalization and heavy marketing by major operators, even as the sector faces intense regulatory scrutiny and taxation pressures.

However, the company reported a nearly 9% decline in fourth-quarter revenue from lodgings, largely due to lower prices and occupancy in its Las Vegas resorts.

The Cosmopolitan, Aria and MGM Grand Las Vegas are among the company’s Las Vegas resorts.

Revenue earned from retail and entertainment services also fell more than 4% year-over-year in the fourth quarter, while food and beverage sales remained flat.

Typically, over half of the company’s net revenue in its Las Vegas resorts is derived from non-gaming operations.

MGM’s total revenue rose to $4.6 billion in quarter ended December 31, compared with the analysts’ average estimate of $4.44 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Quarterly revenue from MGM Digital, its online gaming portfolio that includes iGaming, digital slots, table games, live dealer and online sports betting, grew 34.6% to $188.24 million year-over-year.

Its quarterly adjusted per-share profit rose to $1.60, compared to 45 cents in the fourth quarter on 2024. Analysts, on average, expected 57 cents.

(Reporting by Anshuman Tripathy and Aishwarya Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)