FIFA World Cup: Half of Britain’s sports bettors likely to bet on the event

A YouGov Direct study, conducted on September 5, reveals that 50% of sports bettors in Britain are “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to bet on the Men’s FIFA World Cup later this year.

The share is up eight percentage points compared to late July, and could rise further as gambling companies ramp up advertising efforts closer to the start of the tournament.

Brands will have an opportunity to win new customers ahead of and during the event. While two-fifths of potential World Cup bettors say they are not at all likely to sign up with a new betting company (38%), a quarter of them indicate that they are very likely or somewhat likely to open an account with a new provider for betting on the World Cup (24%). Additionally, 28% are “not very likely” to open a fresh account, indicating some openness to the possibility.

The potential World Cup gamblers who have an existing account with SkyBet are least likely to open a new account (24%). Contrastingly, two-fifths of current Coral members say they are likely to open a new account (41%). Rates of customers likely to open new accounts are similar for Bet365 (31%), BetFair (33%), Paddy Power (34%), William Hill (34%) and LadBrokes (35%). Among likely World Cup bettors who don’t currently have an online account, just 10% say they are likely to open a new one, which is indicative that there remain loyalists of offline betting avenues.

Importantly, the potential World Cup bettors looking to open new accounts are likelier to be bigger spenders – 13% of them say they will spend over £100 in World Cup bets compared to only 5% of those not at all likely to open a new account.

The single biggest motivator for customers likely to open a new account is free bets (77%). Similarly, three-fifths would be motivated by promotional offers such as bonuses (59%).

Platforms that offer better odds (36%) and ones that run a tournament-long free-to-play competition (35%) appeal to a significant portion of customers. A fifth also find the prospect of an easier-to-use platform attractive (19%), and a similar share could be drawn in by platforms that offer fast/easy payments and withdrawals (17%).

Recommendations from friends (8%), a pledge by the provider to contribute to charity or grassroots football (7%) and platforms that have a wide selection of markets and bet types (6%) could also contribute to customer acquisition. A smaller segment say they would be motivated by platforms that offer tools to help them stay in control of their play and gamble safely (3%). Features such as exclusive previews/expert tips (2%), or social tools like league tables to share with friends (2%) are not major draws either.

Motivators vary significantly based on current betting membership. For instance, customers of William Hill are most likely to find promotional offers tempting (80%), while LadBrokes customers are most susceptible to free bets (94%). Those who don’t have betting accounts currently but are looking to open one are relatively keener on safe gambling features (17%).

Features that don’t attract consumers by themselves might be crucial to convincing new members to stay on the platform. Afterall, our research shows that a fifth of consumers will use the new account only to utilise the free bet (if provided) (18%), while two-fifths say they will only place a small number of bets on the new platform (38%).

Among those motivated by free bets, a fifth will use the new account only for the free bet (19%) and two-fifths say they will place a small proportion of their bets on the new platform (42%). But 24% of them will place about half their bets on the new account and 14% of them expect to place most or all their bets on it.