Andrew Foster, Chief Business Officer, Enteractive.

New products are great for the igaming industry, but there is also strong value in focusing on lifetime values and high margin products.   

New product launches receive much attention in the online gambling industry, as shown by the recent launch of the ‘micro-betting’ sportsbook Betr. 

To say the launch was high profile would be the understatement of the year. The company featured on major news outlets and flooded social media networks with clips of its frontman Jake Paul talking about how the company would disrupt the legacy gaming and media space with its focus on micro-betting.   

The marketing and communication around the Betr launch is understandable. As a mass market proposition that is fronted by a figurehead who has 70 million followers on social media, it is completely logical that Betr should ‘go big’ with the launch. 

As a proposition, micro-betting also skews strongly towards younger demographics who are ‘digital natives’ and even if it is unproven and is yet to launch, it will be interesting to see if it succeeds in truly disrupting the legacy gambling and media space.     

However, for all the attention a new brand like Betr receives, at Enteractive we are also seeing that operators that focus on retention and lifetime values on high margin products such as online casino and single game parlays/accumulators continue to be profitable. 

It’s good to talk 

How do we know this? Simply because we talk to many of the players who have accounts with those operators. By ensuring the lines of communication are as open as possible with our clients’ players, we are able to address their needs in a constructive manner as we engage with them in a two-way conversation that aligns with their interests and likes. Importantly, we are also able to understand what they like, when they want to take part and on what channel.  

In the case of the US market it has been said many times before that the online casino vertical skews towards slightly older demographics (over 50s) and more women play online slots or roulette than in Europe. 

When it comes to online sports betting, single game parlays (accumulators) have proved hugely popular in the US, as shown by FanDuel’s success in garnering so much market share as it has come to completely dominate the market and become the first betting-focused brand to be profitable in the US during the second quarter of 2022.  

Higher margins 

Of course the common thread running through online casino and single game parlays/accumulators is that they are high margin products when compared to ‘straight’ bets and enable operators to drive profits to the bottom line.       

Returning to the topic of online casino, that is why DraftKings acquired Golden Nugget Online Gaming for $1.5bn in August 2021. As the group’s leaders said at the time, it had been successful in cross-selling sports bettors towards its casino products, but not at the levels it wanted and decided to acquire GNOG to benefit from higher-value casino-first players, a player demographic it has struggled to recruit in a meaningful way.  

The deal shows how important the vertical is in the US, especially at a time when the largest sports betting-focused operators are being put under pressure by investors to maximise returns. 

Pushing the envelope 

At the time of the Betr launch, the company said it wanted to make micro-betting the core sports betting experience of its sportsbook and that would enable it to become the predominant way people bet on sports in the US. 

Beyond driving players to its more profitable online casino products however or new sports wagering products such as micro-betting, operators are also differentiating on brand, values and, of course, customer service. 

This might translate as odds boosts, promotions and free bets, while for casino it can mean competing on bonusing, cashbacks or the increasing popularity of streamed casino or multiplayer action. 

At Enteractive we are finding that one of the keys to unlocking that activity is through dialogue. In other words, understanding customers’ interests and needs on a personal and individual level that brings stronger retention and reactivation results for our operators.