How much do we really know about sports bettors’ buying habits?

The online sportsbook industry is one of the most competitive digital search markets, and the pace of change is rapid

Because of this, it’s more important than ever that, as marketers, we understand our customers. We need to know what makes them tick and – most importantly – how they like to bet.

After identifying this need, the curious minds at Receptional conducted extensive research into potential punters’ buying habits across the past two years.

Following on from our findings in 2020, we were compelled to take another look at how these habits may have changed over the past year, as well as highlighting what has remained the same.

The research

To gather our findings, we surveyed over 450 panellists, who actively engage in sports betting. To ensure that we were receiving the highest quality of responses, as well as the most relevant, we used two qualifying questions.

All panellists had to have:

• Tried online betting/gambling before; and
• At least one online gambling account.

The findings

Once we had gathered all responses, we were then able to unearth the following things:

1. How many operators punters use, and how much they spend

The first step of understanding punters’ habits, is identifying how many different online betting or gambling companies they have accounts with.

We found that the majority of punters did not limit themselves to just one operator. In fact, 39% of respondents admitted to having three or more betting accounts. From there, we were able to deduce that prospects like to have options. Therefore, by satisfying this desire for variety, an operator will have a better chance of retaining punters.

Next up was spending habits.

After almost two years of this new life that we’re beginning to call normal, the way that we spend our money has changed.

With that in mind, we asked our panel: how much do you typically spend on bets per month?

We expected to find that the majority of respondents would fall into the lower average spend category.

And we were right.

Over half – 55% – of panellists said that they spend an average of £20 or less on betting per month, whilst just 7% exceeded a typical spend of £100 per month.

Despite sporting events returning and offering more for punters to bet on, the overall spend of respondents seems to have remained unaffected.

What’s more, when we proceeded to ask how they thought their spending would change in the next 12 months, the majority ruled that these habits would remain the same.

2. What influences their decision to bet?

The next step in understanding punters’ betting habits is to explore what influences their decisions to bet.

In 2020, when panellists were asked about what influences their betting decisions, memorable adverts appeared to take the top spot for the biggest influence.

This year, our survey revealed that welcome offers are now the biggest influence, bagging the 20% majority of the votes.

This tells us that prospects are looking to shop around – so all we as marketers need to do is differentiate our brand from the competition, and offer attractive welcome offers to grab the punter’s attention.

We also identified that trust plays a huge role in both bringing in new punters, and retaining them.

We then segmented the results by age, to compare what the younger and older audiences look for in order to trust betting operators.

Somewhat unsurprisingly, younger punters trusted online-only betting sites, whilst the older bracket of punters preferred access to a physical shop as well as an online platform, before they feel they can trust a brand.

3. The research window and the types of content prospects prefer

Alongside influences, we also looked at how prospects like to research their bets before making a final decision.

We found that potential punters like to consume content quickly.

In fact, they typically spend 30 minutes or less engaging in research before actually placing a bet.

To gain a deeper insight, we then asked panellists how do you most like to engage with sports content online?

The vast majority – 62% – said that they prefer to watch sports content, to inform their betting decisions.

Taking our research another step further, we asked about preferences when it comes to varying forms of media.

85% of respondents said that they had at least one social media account, indicating that traditional media such as television has taken a backseat.

Knowing where potential punters are spending their downtime can then inform where we place our ads to get the most exposure.

The conclusion

What are the key takeaways from this research?

• Punters have an increasing number of accounts, and welcome offers are key to attracting first-time depositors.
• Newer, online-only brands aren’t as trusted as older brands with a high-street presence, particularly for older age groups.
• Social/digital channels are overtaking traditional/broadcast ones.

How can you use our research to help tackle the challenge of marketing to potential punters?

• Use stand-out creative digital campaigns to attract and retain customers in this more competitive environment.
• Build brand awareness and trust – we recommend using digital PR.
• Understand that all operators must get their multi-channel mix right, with campaigns that span across both established and emerging digital channels.

For more insight into the buying habits of sports bettors, download our eBook: How Punters Choose Sports Betting Brands in 2021.