We asked, you listened! At Affiverse, we wanted to know your thoughts on the sports betting industry and your predictions for 2021. You sent us your answers and we loved hearing what you had to say! We put together some of the Affiliate Soapbox contributions from some of the experts so you could hear their views.
Our next edition is LIVE so make sure to click here to have your voice heard. The topic for January is – 2021 iGaming trends!
Featured this month are Eissa Awwad from www.usaplayerswelcome.com and Stefan Nedeljkovic from Hirequarters. Here’s what this month’s experts had to say!
Affiverse: How innovative are sports betting operators and affiliates in their marketing (Acquisition and Retention)?
Stefan Nedeljkovic: “Operators are more innovative than affiliates. Bonuses, promotions, and loyalty programs have proven as the most effective and powerful way of attracting customers and keeping the existing ones in. I believe that more operators should introduce the freebie concept, something like Action247 in Tennessee did, where players can place wagers on sporting events for free and get paid in real money if they make accurate predictions. “
“As for affiliates, I think that the market is stagnating, and that affiliates are too focused on creating SEO-friendly content than what players really want to see. 99% of the affiliate sites produce the same, basic content, and are only looking to adapt to the SEO trends and google rating. Affiliates also lack objectivity, which is in my opinion, the key ingredient to maintaining the reader (customer) base.”
AI: What innovations are you seeing in the sports industry in terms of player engagement?
SN: Sportsbooks and affiliates are more focused on attracting new players than keeping the existing ones in. Sure, sports betting operators are constantly rolling out new and exciting promos, but these either come with wagering requirements so high that makes it impossible for players to actually win some real money, or they’re paid in free bets – which is yet again, not real money. I would completely remove the concept of free bets, at least when it comes to existing customers.
AI: Which markets do you think are most important for sports betting affiliates right now?
SN: Markets (countries) which have the most lax gambling laws, like India or Canada. The UK market can’t develop as fast due to strict regulations from the UKGC, and high licensing taxes. As for other countries, like Germany and Austria which have strict gambling laws, it’s almost impossible to stay in the business as a sports betting affiliate. If your target Canada, India, New Zealand, you would be able to team up with a wide range of sports betting operators and offer your readers a variety of options.
Affiverse: Where do you think the sports betting + Affiliate industry is heading in 2021?
Eissa Awwad: “I believe that there will be lots of changes. Hopefully, for the better. There are too many restrictions (rules and regulations) against our industry at the moment.”
AI: What innovations are you seeing in sports betting right now?
EW: “The fact that there are always new and improved games always coming out. The UK and the USA iGaming markets are innovative for certain.”
If you want to have your voice heard in January, make sure to visit this page to answer our questions on 2021 iGaming trends!
