May 31st, 2024, Rishad Dsouza
While only 12% of Brits say they are likely to bet on this summer’s UEFA European Championship, just one-fifth (22%) of them say they wouldn’t consider opening a new online sportsbook account for the tournament. With 81% of likely bettors betting online this provides a massive potential opportunity for new account openings but also great danger around retention at this lucrative time for operators. This article considers new polling data to help provide strategies brands can use in a bid to attract and retain bettors this summer.
Among those who do indicate an openness to opening new accounts, nearly two-fifths (42%) say tournament-specific betting promotions could motivate them to do so, while a third could be swayed by attractive sign-up bonuses (35%). Free games could also score wins for betting providers, with 35% saying that special Euro-related free games, such as daily free prize draws or free-to-play prediction games, may win them over. Loyalty schemes can also be a decisive factor (21%) as well as existing site features (11%). Word of mouth is less of a factor here than it tends to be for most other product and service categories – only 14% say they would open a new account due to positive reviews from other bettors.
There is relatively muted interest in things like personalised recommendations based on betting preferences (9%) and betting apps providing exclusive content such as star interviews or betting tips (8%).
It’s clear that promotions and bonuses play the biggest role in winning new consumers over, but what happens if an online bettor’s existing provider doesn’t offer incentives? About a third of existing online account holders say they would continue using the same provider even if it doesn’t have specific Euro24 offers (34%). About 15% express confidence that their existing provider(s) will have some types of offers running anyway, while 14% say they will continue using their existing provider in addition to considering opening a new account to cash in on incentives elsewhere.
23% of potential online Euro 2024 bettors say they are likely to open a new account to take advantage of a new offer elsewhere without stating that they will continue using their existing providers. The data therefore backs up industry knowledge that it is essential for online providers to keep providing incentives to avoid losing market share.
Offers of incentives might be particularly attractive to new bettors given that they are yet to develop brand loyalties or habitual usage of any providers. Out of the potential online bettors group, 6% say they have never bet before, 9% have been sports betting for less than six months and another 12% have been in it for over six months but under a year. Cumulatively, over a quarter of potential Euro 2024 online bettors are either brand new or fairly new to the world of sports betting, making it crucial for brands to introduce and effectively market sign-up bonuses and offers.
Those aged under 45 are more interested in opening a new online account than those 45+. However those aged 45+ who are interested are significantly more engaged by special tournament promotions and sign-up bonuses than younger people. For those aged under 45, while promotions (38%) and free games (33%) are still the top answers, other less popular factors score far higher than among older bettors, including exclusive content such as tips or star interviews (11%), and streaming live matches (13%).
How many Brits are going to place bets on the Euro 2024?
As we have seen, over one in nine Brits say they are very or fairly likely to bet on the upcoming UEFA European Championship 2024 (12%). Another 9% say they are not very likely, indicating some chance they might change their minds.
And how will those who are very or fairly likely to bet actually place their bets? Half of them say they will use their phones to place bets via a sportsbook app (50%). A slightly lower share say they will bet online via websites (42%). Note that there is some overlap between these groups, bringing the total of those who will bet online to 81%. About a tenth of all potential Euro 2024 bettors say they will bet over the counter at bookmakers (10%), and a similar share will place unofficial wagers with friends/family (12%). About one in 20 bettors say they will use a self-service terminal at a high street bookmaker. Although the sample size is small, the data indicates that most in-person bettors will also place bets online.