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Why it matters:
This month's US vs. global comparison reveals where lifecycle investment is paying off and where gaps remain. Reading this, marketers will walk away with a clear benchmark to test their own retention performance against, and a signal for where to shift acquisition or re-engagement spend.
Key takeaways:
Optimove Insights’ iGaming Pulse provides a 12-month YoY benchmark of deposit behavior and active retention across the US and global iGaming markets. Check it out
May is a quieter month on the US sports calendar. The NBA playoffs are winding down, the NFL is dormant, and MLB is the dominant live product. Betting volumes typically reflect that.
But Optimove Insights data from May 2026 shows something more interesting: While bettor counts and volumes softened in the US, active player retention climbed to 71%, three points above the 12-month trailing average of 68%.
That divergence matters as retention rising while activity dips is not typical, and it points to something operators are getting right.
US active customer retention reached 71% in May 2026, three points above the 12-month trailing average of 68%. That gap is notable given the broader context: May saw softer betting activity across both volumes and bettor counts, yet the share of returning players increased.
See chart below for more information:
Definition of Active Retention Rate: The percentage of Casino and Sports bettors who were active in the preceding month and remained active in the current month.
The chart above tells the fuller story. After US retention fell to a 12-month low of 64% in March, it climbed back consecutively, reaching 71% in May. The US line has been the more volatile of the two tracked markets throughout the period, but the direction of travel in recent months is a clear positive.
For operators, the March dip and the subsequent recovery should be read together. Players who dropped off in late Q1 came back, and May's figure suggests those players are staying engaged.
Global retention came in at 73% in May 2026, flat against the 12-month trailing average of 73%. While that sounds like a non-story, it represents something worth noting: Global retention has stayed remarkably stable throughout the entire period tracked, holding between 73% and 76% month after month.
Compared to the US trajectory, the global picture is less volatile and less reactive to individual sporting events or seasonal shifts. That stability reflects a broader, more diversified player base across markets where betting occasions are spread more evenly through the calendar year.
The May data shows the US narrowing the gap with global retention, even if it has not closed it. In March, US retention was 9 points below global (64% vs. 73%). By May, that gap had compressed to 2 points, as shown in the chart above.
The US improvement in May is striking precisely because it happened without a major event catalyst. March Madness and the peak of NFL offseason buzz had both passed. What May's data suggests is that a segment of US players who had been active in earlier months continued to log back in, even without the pull of a marquee event.
That kind of stickiness does not happen by accident. It reflects ongoing engagement between major betting moments, driven by consistent personalized communication, relevant offers, and content that keeps players connected to the platform when the calendar is quiet.
This is where platforms like Optimove Engage add measurable value. By segmenting players based on recency, activity patterns, and product preference, operators can run targeted re-engagement campaigns during lower-intensity periods, keeping retention rates elevated without relying on live event volume to do the work.
Three things stand out from May's retention data.
May 2026 delivered a clear message: US player retention is recovering, and it is doing so independently of volume-driven event cycles. At 71%, the US is now just 2 points behind the global figure of 73%, its closest position in several months.
For operators who invested in re-engagement campaigns during the quieter Q1 period, May's data is the return on that work.
For more insights, contact us to request a demo.
Explore all monthly data on the Optimove iGaming Pulse report page.
Roni is a Marketing Research Analyst on Optimove’s Professional Services team.
As part of her role, she analyzes customer data to extract actionable marketing insights for retail and gaming clients. Roni is currently pursuing a degree in Industrial Engineering and Management at Tel Aviv University.
