Did you know that the Sports Betting Market is expected to grow by $134.06 billion during 2020-2024?
Sportsbooks are the most ubiquitous form of betting in the world. Even when gambling is illegal, sports can be seen on television, discussed in barbershops, and debated in school cafeterias.
Sports bettors make up a small portion of the population but sports betting is mainstream enough that even casual fans will probably have a passing interest in it. This means that there’s huge potential for an online sportsbook to be successful if done correctly.
With all this being said, it may seem strange that no major publicly traded corporation has decided to run a large-scale online sportsbook operation at this point.
There are several reasons why this might have been the case thus far – initial costs being one of them – but taking advantage of these opportunities now could allow an online sportsbook to make a major name for itself in the market.
So how can you take advantage of this? What steps can you take to ensure that if/when one of the existing operators decides to try their hand at being a full-fledged sportsbook they have competition from the very beginning?
In this article, we’ll highlight 5 business plays for online bookies.
1. Make Sure You’re the One Running Your Sportsbook’s Twitter Account
Customers online betting are going to want live updates throughout games and it’s important that someone is available to provide them. Especially during major events that have significant wagering implications.
It costs nothing for a user to send a tweet and if a bettor comes across a slickly designed Twitter account with a flurry of posts happening they may get the impression that the website is dedicated to giving them the most up-to-the-minute odds and information on games.
And even though you’re going to be posting updates on your sportsbook’s Twitter account, there is a limit to the number of times you can provide this type of content.
Luckily, there are many different ways that your social media profile can be used as a promotional tool for your online bookie operation. One of the most effective ways around this is to ask for help from your customers by implementing a hashtag system.
For example, you can send out tweets such as “We need #collegebascketball picks! Who’s going to win tonight?” which will encourage users to fill in the blank and tell you who he/she believes will win.
If you’re actually looking for free picks, this can be a great way to encourage your customers to share them on social media.
2. Look Out For Free Picks
If you understand how gambling works there’s no question about whether or not free sports betting picks will work, they absolutely will. Betting sites are desperate for sign-ups so it never hurts to offer them something for nothing.
This means that if you can find an article offering any type of free pick takes advantage of this by posting it on your sportsbook’s Twitter account at least once per day.
Once customers start seeing results their confidence in your ability to win could skyrocket which could lead to more wagers being placed with your online sportsbook.
3. Make Your Social Media Accounts Official
One of the biggest mistakes sports betting websites make is using a Facebook or Twitter account that isn’t their own. If your sportsbook’s Twitter account only has two posts and one of them is promoting some other website (that likely won’t lead to conversions) you’re essentially throwing money away.
When new customers come across your social media accounts they need to be able to see information that confirms that these accounts are operated by the actual sportsbook.
Therefore, make sure your social media accounts have official-looking graphics and logos on them.
4. Encourage Users to Share Their Wagers Online
Customers like feeling like they’re part of a community, especially if it’s an online community. So if you can get them to share their bets online they might become more invested in your product.
This could lead to them talking about your sportsbook on various social media platforms which obviously increases the odds that someone comes across it and starts using it.
You can use software, like this basketball betting software.
5. Add Wager Types Other Than Straight Bets
A big reason why customers choose one online bookie over another is because of the wager types offered. Not everyone who wants to bet will want to just bet on a winner, there’s also Moneyline, point spread, and totals wagers so if you can add these you’ll be able to attract a wider range of customers.
It never hurts to offer anything and everything when it comes to gambling so even if your margins are lower than they would otherwise be you should still consider adding these wager types.
Want More Help With Sports Betting?
The good news is that there are a lot of ways to make your online sports betting business successful. As you can see there are several opportunities to take advantage of when running an online sportsbook, even before the market is flooded with competitors.
Now that you know how to get started all that’s left to do is choose an online sportsbook software provider and start accepting bets!
We’ve given you 5 plays for the next time you start thinking about how to take on this industry, but we know that these aren’t all-encompassing and that new strategies will emerge over time as more people get into it.
If you want help getting started with any of them or if you need tips tailored specifically to your area of interest (from marketing techniques to social media outreach), check out our blog for more!
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