How Betting Platforms Stay Competitive in a Crowded Market

The global betting market is one of the most competitive sectors in the world. As betting and gambling laws are being liberalised in major markets such as the US, and new technology is pushing back the frontiers of what is possible for gambling platforms, the bar is constantly being raised for operators. 

So how do betting platforms compete for a share of an increasingly crowded sector? In this article, we will take a closer look at the techniques and features that can boost a sportsbook’s profile and help its operator gain and maintain a competitive edge. 

Bonuses and Promotions

Perhaps the most obvious methods that operators use to be competitive in the betting are promotions and bonuses. These are often the highest profile aspect of any platform’s marketing strategy and certainly grab the attention of any customer who checks out a betting website. 

Bonuses come in all shapes and sizes, from the eye-catching welcome bonuses offered to new customers to VIP reward bonuses. Sportsbooks have become increasingly inventive when it comes to bonuses, offering deals related to certain sports events, multiple bet insurance, and free bets if your football wager is unsuccessful or if your selected tennis player retires early. 

Yet, as these insights from IGN on bonuses from an operator’s perspective demonstrate, bonuses come with potential pitfalls, of which operators have to be aware. 

In their efforts to provide the most competitive and attractive bonuses, some sportsbook operators have occasionally fallen foul of rules on advertising and responsibility. Many of the fines and sanctions imposed by regulators like the UK Gambling Commission have been related to bonus promotions with unfair terms and conditions or that were misleading in some way. Operators have to tread a careful path between providing eye-catching bonuses and ensuring that those bonuses are fair. 

Live Streaming and In-Play Features

Live betting is one of the fastest growing niches on the betting market, and there is intense competition among bookmakers to provide the best live betting platform. 

While all betting platforms offer some live markets in 2024, the pressure is on for bookmakers to go further and to supplement their live markets with features and live streaming. For those who like to bet live, access to a live stream of the event they are betting on is crucial, and if a betting platform can offer this feature, it will be in a strong position to retain customers. 

Other live betting features are important. Cashout is a punter-friendly tool that is increasingly popular as it allows customers to take a profit or reduce their losses before an event is over. Making cashout and partial cashout available on as many markets as possible can increase a bookmaker’s edge over their rivals, particularly the betting exchanges, which pioneered the cashout principle. 

Esports Opportunities

Most sports are now covered by the betting market and even niche areas such as reality TV, politics and award shows are commonly on offer at most bookmakers, so opportunities for new sports to cover are rare. Esports, however, offers considerable promise for betting platforms. 

Bookmakers were slow to spot the potential of esports, and this has allowed some newer platforms to enter the market, focusing purely on esports betting. The mainstream betting sector is catching up, however, and it is increasingly common to see bookmakers offering a handful of markets for major sports and events, such as Dota 2 and CS:GO. 

Esports may have started out as a niche pastime for teenagers, but those teenagers are now in their 30s or 40s, and esports events are attracting huge global audiences, not to mention major sponsorship from multinational brands. 

Offering a competitive esports product requires mainstream betting platforms to adjust their standard approach, and in particular, to provide plentiful live markets. Currently, live streaming of esports events is cheaper to provide than live footage of mainstream sports like soccer, and shrewd bookmakers are recognising the opportunities associated with being seen as a leading esports site. 

Conclusion

Few global markets are as competitive as the betting industry and in 2024, even established brands find themselves fighting hard for a market share. Live betting, esports and bonuses may currently be the main areas in which betting platforms compete for new customers, but new technology, changing regulations and shifting customer demand are sure to lead to other opportunities for agile betting operators to gain an edge on their competition, while maintaining responsible gaming standards.