analysis
Odds win out
The competition for customers among online bookmakers has reached boiling point, with complaints over rivals’ odds advertised on TV and a new piece of software that aims to snatch customers from competitor sites
Tom Washington
Competition is nothing new in the online gambling sector, but perhaps in part due to the unforgiving ?nancial climate of recent years, the race to attract punters’ cash has intensi?ed. A price war is the last thing the bookmaking industry needs, but in many ways, that’s what it’s got. For the customer this has been evident through striking marketing campaigns, often promising the best prices available. In February, William Hill produced a television advert claiming to “guarantee the best prices on all favourites” in English and Scottish Premier League matches cleared by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after Coral had complained that some of its own prices on the same matches were better. Now, in a move that has ruffled feathers, Be tfair has also taken the price war to its rivals’ doorsteps. Launched in March, the ‘Betfair Everywhere’ tool allows customers who log into Betfair.com using the Google Chrome web browser to view its prices while browsing its competitors’ and other sports-related websites. Plans are underway to roll out the device across other web browsers in the near future. The tool is part of Betfair’s ‘Don’t settle for less’ advertising campaign, which challenges other operators on the one thing that matters most to the majority of bettors: price. Is the rest of the industry worried? Following the ‘Everywhere’ launch, some operators were concerned its intrusive nature would snatch customers from under their noses, but most were quick to point out that Betfair’s offering was “nothing new”, viewing it as more of a return to the betting exchange website’s values of old. A spokesman for Ladbrokes said that “intense price competition” has been the norm for some time, and while Betfair Everywhere is a useful tool to attract customers, it “will not change the industry”. “Comparing two operators’ odds as a means of marketing is complicated. Not only are there different commission structures in place, but often only a certain amount of bets can be taken at a certain price, some can’t be offered each way and so on,” he said. Peter Marcus, UK managing director at Betfair, argues that the ‘Don’t settle for less’ campaign is not as aggressive as it may seem. “We don’t see ourselves as being embroiled in any ‘price war’ and we’re not about one-off promotions or special prices on a speci?c match. "The Betfair
“We don’t see ourselves as being embroiled in any ‘price war’ – we’re not about one-off promotions.” Peter Marcus, UK managing director at Betfair
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