The U.S. sportsbook market has evolved well beyond the core spreads, totals and parlays that once defined the local betting experience. As player expectations continue to change, features such as player props, same-game parlays, micro-betting, personalized content, and social functionality are becoming increasingly important to sportsbook product strategies.
We spoke with Giannis Papakonstantinou, Product Director at Altenar, who analyzes the key trends on sportsbook progress in the United States, from the growing focus on individual athletes to the rise of personalized and more interactive betting experiences.
What does the U.S. market expect from a modern sportsbook product today?
Let’s take a step back and define what constituted the successful sports betting platform a few years ago. Offering the core betting markets for U.S. sums such as spread and total markets and presenting them in the local way that better is expected, in the 6-pack view, was probably sufficient. Some more advanced platforms back then also offered some functionalities such as parlays and teasers. Parlays are like the ancestors of today’s same-game parlays. Now moving a few years forward, the situation is very different. Some of the most important additions relate to the addition of the player special markets and the same game parlay functionality. Some players special markets attract are actually as important as core markets if not more important. Bettors expect to be able to combine them with the core markets; the rest of the core sportsbook markets. We can add to this the micro-betting markets which allow players to place live bets on what’s going to happen next during life basically, so next play markets are also relevant.
When building a sportsbook for U.S. bettors, what product priorities differ the most from other regulated markets?
There are three main differences. First of all, is the local content. U.S. bettors focus on specific competitions like NBA, NHL, MLB, NFL and of course local college leagues and markets. The second thing is the content presentation. In comparison to a traditional European sportsbook where content is presented in a huge list of events format, U.S. books focus on presenting by what do the customer care for the most. U.S. sports and player special markets are presented in a very prominent space. The third thing is betting patterns. There’s a difference between the betting patterns of European bettors and U.S. bettors. European bettors prefer to place bets on the winner markets, and create accumulator bet slips, while the focus of the U.S. bettors strictly relates to same game parlays, placing bets on players combining actually player special markets.
Player props continue to attract significant attention. Why do you think this betting format resonates so strongly with U.S. audiences?
Player special markets are already super popular in the U.S. The dynamic is growing in other jurisdictions too. I really believe that this is a cultural thing. The young generation doesn’t have strong connections with clubs and teams. They connect though with specific individuals such as athletes. They are supporters of those individuals rather than teams and that is being reflected also in their betting patterns. This is why players’ special markets are so popular.
Beyond player props, what other betting trends or engagement mechanics do you see becoming increasingly important in the U.S. market?
Besides player props and the functionalities that we have already mentioned, like the same game parlay, a few issues are becoming super popular. One of them, and probably the most important one, is personalized content, based on user-bending patterns, which allows sportsbook to replicate the recommended-for-you approach that users are already familiar with from other platforms, like Netflix. Then it’s the social community aspect, which allows players to chat within the platform, copy-paste from friends, or follow influencers. Lastly, it’s the gamification and loyalty programs, which are more engaging and help with players’ acquisition and retention, compared to the kind of old and simple approach, which focused on getting just a catch-back bonus.