We are getting closer to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Operators are anxious to anticipate bettors’ moves and try to get big profits from this huge sporting event. To help them achieve their goals, the Optimove team is sharing its World Cup Prep series, where they break down player behavior and betting patterns around major events. Founded in 2009, Optimove is the leading CRM Marketing Hub, empowering brands to create and manage large-scale customer-led journeys across all channels.
The company has collected data from some 8 million players during last year’s COVID-postponed Euro 2021. They chose to focus on two main factors this time which, if played right, can help operators score big this tournament: a) Pre-match and live betting around the event; and b) Web and Mobile betting around the event.
Firstly, they expected to find more players using mobile, compared to web, and at an increasing frequency during a big event, assuming to see more live bets during these events. Let’s look at the figures:
Takeaway #1: Mobile is hugely dominant during big events, but web holds its ground
Do players prefer mobile betting to web? Where should you expect to find them during the event? Optimove’s data shows that a vastly more significant chunk of football bettors choose to bet via mobile during National leagues (regularly, an 85-15 split in favor of mobile) and Euro 2021 did not affect that breakdown. To be fair to mobile, there’s little room for growth. While mobile betting is easier, quicker, and on-hand, some players still prefer the web version, which could be perceived as more trustworthy early on.
It’s interesting to point out that, during Euro 2021, only 10% of football bettors made both mobile and web bets. That means that most of players pick a lane. When you realize their lane, whether mobile or web, you should be able to focus on communicating personalized betting promotions that should be right up their alley. Next, add that attribution to your audience segmentation, and you’re already a step closer to true personalization at scale for your players.
Takeaway #2: Deposit amount hikes more drastically on mobile
Unsurprisingly, total amounts deposited spike during a mega event like the FIFA World Cup. With all the excitement, global interest, and the flood of casual players, that makes complete sense. But the increase in mobile, which is the real driver of that overall growth, is more significant than the one on web.
For example, on average, during last year’s Euro 2021, the total bet amount rose by 137%. Mobile bets are responsible for most of that spike. When looking at mobile average deposit amount, it grew by 142% compared to 117% on the web. Now that you know that mobile betting is worth more than others, it’s time to tweak your strategy to encourage more activity on that channel and reap the rewards.
Takeaway #3: Live bets are worth more
For operators, like players, there are advantages and disadvantages to pre-match and in-play betting. Pre-match bets are placed on an event before it has started. For example, betting on Real Madrid taking on Barcelona in the Spanish La Liga before the match begins. As the odds fluctuate less pre-match, players have more time to research and decide calmly.
Live betting, also known as in-play betting, happens when players place a bet on a match as it is taking place.
So once again, Optimove dove into those millions of player’s touchpoints and came back with a result:
The average live bet amount per player is higher than the average pre-match bet amount per player during big events. This means it could be worth considering investing more in live betting promotions and gamification that could encourage more live betting.
Additionally, the average Net Gaming Revenue (NGR) per player for those with at least one live bet is 12.8 times higher than that of players with no live bets.
On the other hand, operators can count on a certain regularity regarding pre-match bets, with over 90% of football bettors depositing on at least one pre-match bet around and during Euro21.
There’s still time to fine tune a proper World Cup marketing strategy. With these conclusions in mind, operators gain another World Cup marketing puzzle piece. Even if their marketing strategy is already in place, they can still use these insights to adjust in the run-up to the event. To segment their audience correctly and employ personalization at a scale, it’s essential to understand first-time players, how betting patterns change during a big event, and more.