BetMGM Sends MGM $34 Million as Strip Earnings Fall and iGaming Growth Slows

BetMGM starts returning cash as the Strip weakens

BetMGM has begun returning cash to its owners just as MGM Resorts faces weaker earnings on the Las Vegas Strip. The online venture paid MGM $34 million in distributions and brand license fees in the third quarter of 2026, while lower room rates helped push Strip earnings down 12%. The contrast matters: one part of MGM’s business is starting to send cash back, while its flagship destination market is under pressure.

BetMGM sent $68 million to MGM and Entain combined, comprising $50 million in cash distributions and $18 million in parent fees. Those payments came earlier than MGM’s prior expectation that they would begin in the fourth quarter of 2025, initially totaling at least $100 million. The timing shows that the venture has reached a point where it can make payments to its owners; the figures don’t, by themselves, establish how much cash it can return on a recurring basis.

Here’s the thing: distributions and brand fees are different pieces of the relationship. Cash distributions return funds from the joint venture, while brand license fees reflect payments to its parents for the use of their brands. For MGM, both contribute to the value of its BetMGM stake, but neither changes the fact that the company’s other operations face different pressures.

BetMGM grows profit as iGaming momentum cools

BetMGM’s revenue climbed 7% year over year to $710 million. iGaming contributed $483 million, up 6%, while online sports net revenue increased 7% to $216 million. Adjusted EBITDA for the first nine months reached $185 million, with profit rising faster than revenue, a sign that the business is improving its earnings as it grows.

The balance between revenue and profit is useful context. Growth can look less impressive when measured only by the top line, but faster profit growth suggests BetMGM is converting more of its activity into earnings. It doesn’t settle the longer-term question of how quickly the venture can expand, particularly when its largest product categories are growing at a more measured pace.

The operator holds 14% of gross gaming revenue across its active markets: 20% in iGaming and 8% in online sports betting. It kept its 2026 targets of $2.9 billion to $3.1 billion in net revenue and $300 million to $350 million in adjusted EBITDA, though it now expects to land near the lower end of each range. That guidance gives investors a clearer near-term frame, but the lower-end expectation tempers the headline targets.

That outlook reflects a tougher growth environment. US iGaming revenue rose 12% in the third quarter, its slowest year-over-year pace on record, according to Citizens JMP Securities, after growth of 19% in the first quarter and 16% in the second. State performance was mixed: Pennsylvania grew 7%, New Jersey 10% and Michigan 17%. The figures point to a market that’s still expanding, but at a less uniform pace than earlier in the year.

This is more significant than it looks. When a company’s targets depend on continued market growth, slower category expansion can make it harder to reach the top of a forecast range, even if the business keeps gaining revenue. BetMGM’s market shares show it has meaningful positions in both iGaming and sports betting, but those shares don’t guarantee that the broader market will keep growing at its earlier rate.

Regional figures reflect Northfield Park sale

MGM’s reported Regional Operations revenue declined 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 leaves a prior-year same-store base of $873.2 million, against which the regional business posted modest growth.

The distinction between reported and same-store results changes how the decline should be read. A sale reduces the current business being measured, so comparing the two headline totals alone can make continuing operations appear weaker than they were. On the adjusted comparison, the regional business grew modestly; that’s a better guide to its performance on a comparable basis, though it doesn’t erase the effect of no longer owning the sold operations.

MGM Digital, which includes LeoVegas but excludes BetMGM, increased revenue to $184 million from $174 million. Its adjusted EBITDAR loss narrowed to $4 million, compared with $23 million a year earlier. CEO Bill Hornbuckle said MGM’s digital businesses delivered strong revenue growth, while the loss figures show that revenue growth and profitability remain separate questions for this part of the company.

And yet, the improved digital figures offer a different signal from the Strip results. A narrower loss suggests MGM Digital is closer to covering its costs than it was a year earlier, while the higher revenue indicates continued expansion. The unit still reported a loss, so the improvement shouldn’t be mistaken for a completed turnaround.

What the results mean for MGM’s mix of businesses

The results point to digital revenue helping cushion softer Strip performance, though BetMGM’s slower iGaming growth shows the limits of that offset as the US market cools. The businesses also serve different roles in MGM’s results: the Strip is facing lower room rates, while the digital operations are growing revenue and, in BetMGM’s case, returning cash to its owners. A stronger result in one area can help balance weakness in another, but the figures don’t show that digital has replaced the earnings contribution of the resorts.

If you’re working in this space, the distinction between growth and resilience is worth keeping in view. BetMGM’s profit growth and distributions are tangible progress, but its guidance now points toward the lower end of its ranges, and the broader iGaming market has slowed. The numbers here are underwhelming as a case for unbroken acceleration; they’re more useful as evidence that the business can grow and generate cash in a less favorable market.

(And this is the part most people overlook.) A cash payment to owners is a milestone, but it doesn’t answer how durable the underlying growth will be. That depends on the venture’s future performance and the markets where it operates, neither of which can be inferred from one quarter’s distribution alone. For now, the payments add a positive cash contribution to a mixed set of operating results.

DraftKings is due to report third-quarter results after market close on November 5, 2026, with a conference call scheduled for 8:30 a.m. ET on November 6. Its report will provide another data point on the online betting business, but it won’t resolve the questions raised here about BetMGM’s pace of growth or MGM’s exposure to softer Strip conditions. A useful comparison. The next results will show whether the slower iGaming growth is shared across the category or more specific to individual operators.