BetMGM Sends $68 Million to Owners as MGM’s Strip Earnings Fall

Digital cash arrives as the Strip cools

MGM Resorts’ third-quarter results show its online gaming venture starting to deliver cash just as the Las Vegas Strip faces softer performance. BetMGM paid its owners $68 million during the quarter, while MGM’s Strip earnings dropped 12% as lower room rates weighed on results. The figures put two different parts of MGM’s business in sharp relief: digital operations are beginning to return cash to their owners, while the company’s flagship resort market is producing less profit.

That contrast matters because revenue growth and cash generation don’t tell the same story. A digital business can post rising sales while still consuming resources; a distribution to its owners signals that BetMGM has reached a point where it can send cash upstream. But the Strip remains a large part of MGM’s operating picture, and lower room rates can pressure earnings even when resorts continue to attract visitors. Here’s the thing: the quarter shows progress in one business alongside a real earnings headwind in another.

The payment to MGM and Entain included $50 million in cash distributions and $18 million in parent fees, including brand license fees. MGM had previously expected payments to start in the fourth quarter of 2025, initially at $100 million or more. MGM released its results on October 28. The actual payment is below that initial expectation, though the figures cover a specific quarter and don’t establish what future distributions will look like.

BetMGM profit rises as iGaming growth cools

BetMGM’s net revenue increased 7% year over year to $710 million. iGaming contributed $483 million, up 6%, while online sports revenue grew 7% to $216 million. Adjusted EBITDA for the first nine months reached $185 million, with profit growing faster than revenue. That relationship suggests improving operating performance over the period: the business generated more adjusted earnings without revenue rising at the same pace.

Still, a rising profit figure doesn’t erase the question of how much growth remains available in the company’s largest digital segment. iGaming accounted for most of the reported revenue, yet its growth rate was lower than the broader US market’s. That gap makes the quarter a mixed read. BetMGM is generating more cash and profit, but the market data suggest its online casino business didn’t keep pace with category growth.

The operator reported a 14% share of gross gaming revenue across its active markets: 20% in iGaming and 8% in online sports betting. These figures show a stronger position in iGaming than in online sports, although market share alone doesn’t reveal how much it costs to acquire or retain customers. For readers comparing operators, that distinction matters: share describes the business’s slice of activity, while revenue and adjusted EBITDA give different views of its financial performance.

BetMGM maintained its 2026 targets of $2.9 billion to $3.1 billion in net revenue and $300 million to $350 million in adjusted EBITDA, but now expects to finish near the low end of both ranges. That update leaves the targets intact while lowering the implied confidence in reaching their upper ends. The numbers here are underwhelming against the top of the guidance range. They still point to expected growth, but the likely landing point matters more than the headline range when assessing the pace of the business.

BetMGM’s 6% iGaming growth came in below the US market’s 12% increase, which Citizens JMP Securities described as the slowest on record. The market had grown 19% in the first quarter and 16% in the second. State performance differed: Pennsylvania grew 7%, New Jersey 10% and Michigan 17%. Those differences show why a single national growth rate can conceal sharply different conditions across states, and why an operator’s results may depend on where its activity is concentrated.

And yet, the slower category growth doesn’t explain the whole gap between BetMGM and the market. State results vary, and the figures here don’t break out how the company performed in each of those states. A cautious reading is the useful one: the market’s pace has cooled, and BetMGM grew more slowly than that market in the quarter. No more can be concluded from these figures alone.

Regional results reflect Northfield Park sale

MGM’s Regional Operations revenue fell to $883.2 million from $956.9 million. The comparison includes the April 2026 sale of MGM Northfield Park’s operations for $546 million. Excluding $83.7 million in revenue from the sold properties, the previous year’s comparable base was $873.2 million, pointing to modest same-store growth. The headline decline therefore combines the effect of a business leaving the portfolio with the performance of the operations still included in the comparison.

That distinction is useful for understanding the quarter, but it doesn’t turn a small comparable increase into evidence of a strong regional upswing. The adjusted comparison points to modest growth, while the reported total is lower. For a company with businesses that can change through sales, looking only at the top-line comparison can obscure what happened in the remaining portfolio. Same-store figures help clarify that picture, though they don’t capture every factor behind revenue or profit.

Digital offers a partial cushion

MGM Digital, which includes LeoVegas but excludes BetMGM, generated $184 million in revenue, up from $174 million. Its adjusted EBITDAR loss narrowed to $4 million from $23 million. CEO Bill Hornbuckle said MGM’s digital businesses delivered strong revenue growth. The smaller loss is a separate signal from the revenue increase: it suggests the segment’s reported operating result improved, even though it remained in the red on an adjusted EBITDAR basis.

Digital operations are helping cushion the pressure on MGM’s Las Vegas business, though BetMGM’s results also reflect a slower US iGaming market. The two digital figures shouldn’t be collapsed into one: MGM Digital excludes BetMGM, while BetMGM is a venture whose owners received the reported payment. Together, they show that “digital” covers businesses with different financial structures and results. This is more significant than it looks. If you're working in this space, the labels matter as much as the growth rates.

DraftKings was scheduled to report third-quarter results after market close on November 5, with a conference call set for 8:30 a.m. ET on November 6. Those results could offer another point of comparison for the online betting market, though the information here doesn’t establish what DraftKings would report. The comparison to watch is whether operators describe similar market conditions and whether revenue growth also translates into stronger earnings or cash generation.

What the quarter suggests next

For MGM, the key question is whether cash from BetMGM can become a more dependable contribution while the Strip’s earnings remain under pressure. One quarter’s payment is a concrete milestone, but it isn’t enough to establish a lasting pattern. The initial expectation of $100 million or more and the reported $68 million payment also show why timing and composition matter when interpreting cash returned to owners.

That said, the quarter gives investors and industry observers several distinct signals rather than a single verdict: BetMGM’s profit is growing faster than revenue, its iGaming growth trails the market, and MGM’s comparable regional revenue is modestly higher after accounting for the sale. Meanwhile, lower Strip room rates have weighed on earnings. The business is making progress in digital cash generation, but that progress hasn’t removed the pressure elsewhere.

One unresolved point.

Future results will show whether BetMGM can improve its growth relative to the markets where it operates and whether MGM Digital can continue narrowing its adjusted EBITDAR loss. The figures reported so far support a measured view: digital operations are contributing more, but they don’t yet make the Strip’s softer performance irrelevant. What this means for you is that MGM’s quarter is best read as a transition, with early cash returns on one side and a weaker resort earnings result on the other.

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