“ These sharks are not afraid to take out the middle tier of competition if any get too big for their boots ”
102 • ISSUE 94 • iGB AFFILIATE LONDON 2024
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INSIGHT
These big boys , and upstarts like The Game Day , know their onions . They act as the big sharks in the ocean protecting their young and pursuing any large fish that emerge . These sharks are not afraid to take out the middle tier of competition if any get too big for their boots . I ’ m intrigued to see how BestOdds will evolve in the years ahead .
A challenge for newer entrants to this space is how can they achieve sufficient scale that the major players can smell a takeover opportunity . Against bettercapitalised , more experienced , older , global affiliate brands with a stable of domains and websites in their arsenal and higher CPA or rev-share terms , it ’ s not an easy task .
SCALING STATESIDE
In this series of articles for iGB Affiliate , I have outlined and will continue to outline various pitfalls and provide some thoughts to the next generation of US-focused affiliates about how to scale stateside . In the previous article , I explained how Wall Street ’ s shift , from the “ scale at all costs ” mantra to one of “ let ’ s be profitable ” had various repercussions . My argument was twofold : first , that this shift had made the conversion process tougher for affiliates and second , that less marketing spend by the books in general was reducing the pool of first-time bettors coming to the market .
Aside from reduced TV and outdoor marketing spend from the US sportsbooks in 2022 compared to 2021 , there was another factor at play which was noticeable for affiliates of all sizes : bonuses and promos . And the subject of account opening “ gifts ” is the main theme of this article .
GIFTING GAMESMANSHIP
In the UK , with the market at such a saturation point and the bookies so knowledgeable about their customer bases ’ lifetime values ( LTV ), the promo and bonus landscape is very different to the one across the Atlantic .
In 2023 , a British bookmaker ’ s best bonus could well be along the lines of a free fiver and a carriage clock . OK , I ’ m being slightly tongue-in-cheek with the carriage clock comment and the value I attach to such items , but the fact is a British punter ’ s account opening present nowadays is not exactly salivatory .
Think back to 2021 across the pond when one of the household names seemed to tire of the game that was “ which sportsbook has claims to the highest account opening promo ?”
It felt a bit like the days of crypto lunacy when Bitcoin seemingly doubled in a matter of days , although it actually took two months to rise from $ 30,000 to $ 60,000 .
“ These sharks are not afraid to take out the middle tier of competition if any get too big for their boots ”
One week this sportsbook was offering an eye-watering $ 2,500 account opening bonus . The next week , they played their “ see you and I raise you ( big time )” card . Yes , for a month or so , one operator was attracting an audience with a mindblowingly massive $ 5,000 bonus .
As it happened , the figure was so large it actually scared off customers who were concerned they would not be able to afford to bet such a sum in order to be awarded their bonus in full .
However , from an affiliate ’ s perspective , the attraction of being able to shout about large bonuses and exciting promotional offers is part and parcel of what many companies are doing .
In 2021 , even if that $ 5,000 bonus was simply a one-off and a major outlier , the average bonus given out during the NFL season for all the major brands as well as for most of the mid-tier operators was easily four figures .
TEMPERING EXPECTATIONS
Fast forward to the biggest betting months of 2022 in the US from September through to Christmas and the quantum of bonus and promo buzz had certainly