With the return of sporting events this summer, including EURO 2020, Tokyo’s Olympic Games and Wimbledon, online gambling has been back in the spotlight. In the fifth entry to our Adjust and Redbox Mobile’s “Tea Talks” series, we discuss all things mobile gambling. Specifically, we look at learnings over the course of EURO 2020, the prospects of the U.S. market as it opens up, as well as iOS 14’s influence on marketing strategies.
First published here, on Adjust and written by Niall Condon, Content Writer.
In a session hosted by Redbox Mobile CEO, James Salins, and Adjust’s Carla Ryan, industry leaders Thanos Patsis from OPAP, Angelo Di Lascio from the Kindred Group, Mirko Fazio from Entain and Lucy Bennett from Redbox Mobile share their experience and predictions on the future of mobile gambling.
EURO 2020
Although England is a traditionally strong market for gambling, this summer saw an increase in betting activity. No doubt this was enhanced by the English team’s success throughout this year’s UEFA European championship. Similarly, there was a visible uplift in performance and user acquisition from the App Store in both Germany and Belgium. While pre-acquisition wasn’t as strong compared to previous years, user acquisition followed a similar U shape to the 2018 FIFA World Cup — the majority of acquisitions peaked at the beginning and towards the end of the tournament.
“A major trend I’ve seen in the past one and half years, since the lockdowns started, was that quality in betting is not as important as quantity. That was the exact opposite of what we used to see. This means a week or month with many events is potentially stronger than a week or a month with quality events,” Thanos Patsis.
Google and Facebook’s updated algorithms showed that they were able to adapt to the unprecedented peak in ad bids during this summer.
Breaking into the U.S. market
In recent years, the U.S. has shown huge potential for the online sports betting market. While many European countries have legislation on betting advertising and limits on gambling marketing, we’ve seen a number of states that have already opened up to mobile phone gambling.
“It’s a very app first, video first market. This combination can be very strong for brands entering the market for the first time,” Thanos Patsis.
As the U.S. has not had massive exposure to online gambling, the market is still very much in its infancy. With each state having its own legislation, an app-first approach makes sense from a purely regulatory standpoint. Although acquisition costs can be high due to established brands such as DraftKings and Fanduel, the U.S. can be a very lucrative opportunity for new gambling brands.
By leveraging marketing with media groups, listening to users and providing options and products, you’re guaranteeing that your product is suitable and can compete. In recent years the popularity of soccer has skyrocketed in the U.S., this crossover into Europe can provide you with another way into this exciting new market.
The future of online gambling
It is vital for the industry to continue focusing on providing safe, fun experiences for its users. There’s also a push to move towards more entertainment rather than just a pure gambling experience — casual gaming has already done a great job of showing ways that this can be achieved.
In fact, working on the ‘game’ aspect of betting apps will prove to be very important in the coming years, and having live games and live streaming within the app itself will help keep users engaged.
Over-the-top and Connected TV (CTV) marketing is tipped to be another important player. The U.S. excels in OTT and CTV advertising with 82% of U.S. households either having a Smart TV or television connected to the internet. Being able to advertise to users on these platforms will be a very valuable asset going forward.
Watch the full webinar here, and keep your eyes peeled for an invite to our next webinar on mobile gambling over the coming weeks. We will be talking with more mobile gambling experts as we take a deeper dive into the American market.
