NFL betting apps face install decline as fantasy platforms surge

AppsFlyer and Sensor Tower released their NFL Midseason Report on November 12, 2025, documenting significant shifts in how fans engage with sports betting and fantasy applications during the current season. The data reveals a maturing sports betting market experiencing contraction in new user acquisition alongside sustained engagement from existing users, while fantasy sports platforms demonstrate accelerating growth across multiple metrics.

Installs across the sports betting cohort declined 39% year-over-year for the 14-week NFL period from kickoff through Week 7, according to AppsFlyer. In-app purchase revenue suffered more severe impacts, falling 62% year-over-year during the same timeframe. October marked the steepest divergence from 2024 performance, with both installs and revenue dropping approximately 50% compared to strong performance in the corresponding period last year.

The revenue decline reflects a market where most interested users have already installed major betting applications. Traditional sportsbook apps operate in only 30 states where online sports betting maintains full legal status, creating inherent growth limitations as the addressable market reaches saturation.

Weekly app sessions across the sports betting category climbed 9% compared to 2024 levels, demonstrating deepening engagement among existing users despite stalled acquisition, according to AppsFlyer data. FanDuel and Sleeper each averaged 14 minutes of daily time spent during the measurement period, leading engagement metrics across the betting ecosystem. The data suggests consolidation rather than abandonment, as users who remain active increase their interaction with platforms.

Pick'em applications captured significant market share during the 2025 season, benefiting from regulatory frameworks that permit operations in states where traditional sportsbooks face restrictions. PrizePicks monthly active users increased 82% year-over-year, while Sleeper grew 39% and Underdog expanded 35%, according to Sensor Tower. FanDuel and DraftKings, the category's dominant players, recorded more modest growth of 3% and 5% respectively in monthly active users.

The regulatory environment shapes geographic advertising strategies in measurable ways. FanDuel and DraftKings, which derive approximately 80% of their monthly active users from sportsbook features, concentrate advertising spend in states including New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Illinois where online sports betting operates legally, according to Sensor Tower. PrizePicks executes the inverse strategy, focusing advertising expenditure in California and Texas to reach audiences unable to access traditional betting platforms.

Pick'em apps wager on specific player statistics rather than game outcomes, enabling operations in jurisdictions where traditional sports betting faces prohibition. This structural advantage allows platforms like PrizePicks to address market segments inaccessible to competitors constrained by state-level gambling restrictions.

Prediction apps, the smallest subset within sports betting, recorded the highest month-over-month growth in September 2025 at 60% in monthly active users, though the expansion reflects a smaller base audience with greater room for percentage increases, according to Sensor Tower. Sportsbook and Pick'em apps maintain 95% of monthly active users across the sports betting cohort, with FanDuel and DraftKings accounting for 50% of total users.

Average daily time spent varies significantly by format. Sportsbook applications led at 9.5 minutes per day, followed by Pick'em apps at 7.9 minutes and Prediction apps at 3.7 minutes, according to Sensor Tower data. The metrics indicate that traditional betting formats retain stronger engagement characteristics despite slower user growth.

Fantasy sports platforms demonstrated opposite trajectories from sports betting applications across acquisition, revenue, and engagement metrics. Monthly active users across the fantasy football cohort jumped 40% from August 2023 to August 2025, indicating successful efforts to maintain year-round engagement beyond peak sporting seasons, according to Sensor Tower.

ESPN Fantasy commands 48% of monthly active users in the category, establishing market leadership in the three-platform cohort that includes Sleeper at 33% and Yahoo Fantasy at 18% of monthly active users. The distribution reflects ESPN's brand recognition and established position in sports media, though Sleeper's hybrid model incorporating both sportsbook and fantasy features enabled sustained user retention throughout the 2024 season when ESPN and Yahoo experienced monthly active user declines from September through December.

In-app purchase revenue across fantasy platforms exceeded double the 2024 levels, increasing 106% year-over-year from the week before the season starts through Week 7, according to AppsFlyer. Fantasy platforms experienced sustained weekly in-app purchase revenue spikes throughout the measurement period, contrasting with sports betting apps that plateaued early in the season. Total fantasy app sessions increased 32% year-over-year, with the largest variance from 2024 levels appearing in late July, demonstrating gains in off-season engagement.

Sessions from NFL Week 1 through Week 7 climbed 25% compared to 2024, reflecting both expanded user bases and increased interaction frequency among existing users, according to AppsFlyer data. The sustained session growth throughout the season indicates fantasy platforms successfully combat mid-season fatigue that historically reduces engagement as underperforming teams eliminate users from competitive standing.

Advertising strategies within fantasy sports shifted dramatically between September 2024 and September 2025. Yahoo Fantasy captured 95% of U.S. ad impressions across the category in September 2025, allocating spend entirely to Facebook, according to Sensor Tower. The remaining 5% of impressions went to Sleeper, distributed across Instagram at 78%, TikTok at 15%, and Facebook at 7%.

This represents a complete reversal from September 2024, when Sleeper accounted for 100% of impressions through a diversified mix of TikTok at 70% of impressions, AdMob at 25%, and Mobile Ad Networks at approximately 5%. The aggressive 2024 advertising campaign likely contributed substantially to making Sleeper one of the fastest-growing applications over the past two years, according to Sensor Tower analysis.

The advertising expenditure reallocation suggests Yahoo Fantasy implemented a concentrated acquisition strategy targeting Facebook's user base, while Sleeper reduced external advertising following successful user base expansion in prior periods. Platform selection reflects different audience targeting approaches, with Yahoo's Facebook concentration aiming at an older demographic compared to Sleeper's previous emphasis on TikTok's younger user base.

Mobile app advertising dynamics continue evolving as platforms adapt to changing regulatory environments and user preferences. Google expanded sports betting ad acceptance to Missouri in August 2025, following similar moves in Florida in November 2023 and Delaware in January 2024, gradually opening advertising inventory as states legalize sports betting.

The sports betting and fantasy sports ecosystem demonstrates divergent growth patterns as the 2025 NFL season progresses toward its conclusion. Sports betting faces market maturation with declining acquisition offset by increasing engagement intensity among existing users. Fantasy platforms accelerate across user growth, revenue generation, and session frequency, benefiting from social and gamified elements that sustain year-round participation.

Pick'em applications and hybrid models like Sleeper blur categorical distinctions between betting and fantasy, exploiting regulatory advantages and behavioral trends to maximize reach in markets where traditional sportsbooks cannot operate. The data indicates an industry in transition, where growth concentrates in formats offering social interaction and accessible entry points rather than pure gambling mechanics.

The findings carry implications for mobile advertising strategies as platforms compete for user attention and advertising budgets in a fragmenting landscape. Sports betting's revenue decline despite stable engagement suggests pricing pressures and increased competition for existing users, while fantasy sports' sustained growth across metrics indicates room for continued expansion beyond traditional peak seasons.

Timeline

• September 2025: Prediction apps recorded highest month-over-month growth at 60% in monthly active users
• September 2025: Yahoo Fantasy captured 95% of U.S. ad impressions across fantasy sports category, allocating spend entirely to Facebook
• August 2023 to August 2025: Fantasy sports monthly active users in U.S. increased 40%
• NFL Season 2025 (Kickoff through Week 7): Sports betting installs declined 39% year-over-year across 14-week period
• NFL Season 2025 (Kickoff through Week 7): In-app purchase revenue for sports betting fell 62% year-over-year
• NFL Season 2025 (Kickoff through Week 7): Fantasy platform in-app purchase revenue increased 106% year-over-year
• NFL Weeks 1-7, 2025: Fantasy app sessions increased 25% compared to 2024
• October 2025: Sports betting installs and revenue both dropped approximately 50% compared to October 2024
• November 12, 2025: AppsFlyer and Sensor Tower released NFL Midseason Report

Summary

Who: AppsFlyer and Sensor Tower released the report analyzing mobile app performance data for sports betting and fantasy sports applications during the 2025 NFL season.

What: The report documented a 39% decline in sports betting app installs and 62% decrease in in-app purchase revenue year-over-year, while fantasy sports platforms achieved 40% monthly active user growth and 106% revenue increases during the same period.

When: AppsFlyer and Sensor Tower released the NFL Midseason Report on November 12, 2025, analyzing data from kickoff through Week 7 of the 2025 NFL season.

Where: The analysis covered United States market performance across both sports betting applications operating in 30 states where online betting is legal and fantasy sports platforms available nationwide without regulatory restrictions.

Why: The divergent performance reflects sports betting market maturation as addressable audiences reach saturation, while fantasy sports platforms benefit from social and gamified features that sustain year-round engagement and attract users unable or unwilling to participate in traditional gambling.