Friday View: World Cup proves mobileâs worth
UK-facing bookmakers report boosts to mobile turnover as this summerâs World Cupâs legacy could be a lasting adoption of the platform
Richard Glynn predicted back in May that this summerâs World Cup would be the biggest on mobile yet which, although not the boldest forecast that the Ladbrokes CEO could have made, has proven to ring true with a host of UK-facing sportsbooks reporting sizeable boosts during the tournament.
âWeâve found our mobile customers spending much more time on the platform and significantly increasing their propensity to have a bet,â David Williams, Ladbrokes head of consumer PR, told eGR Mobile Intelligence this morning.
Ladbrokes made a number of renovations to its mobile sportsbook in the build-up to the tournament, including the addition of a World Cup Centre that included special offers and exclusive content, while new payment options have also worked in the operatorâs favour.
â[The mobile sportsbook has] been slick, quick and relevant; in particular our recent improvements to push messaging technology have enabled us to be front of mind at the key moments in the tournament,â Williams added. âCustomers have embraced it and the numbers have been really encouraging.â
BetVictor recorded similar success on mobile, but did miss the 80% of turnover estimate that it had previously predicted by recording around 70% of sportsbook turnover during the tournament on mobile. The operatorâs Instabet app was âhugely popularâ with punters according to a BetVictor spokesperson, and the appâs special offers said to have been âreally well receivedâ.
The bookmakerâs Spincast betting market, which received its own app in May, was also popular to the tournament and climbed to become one of the top five betting markets according to sportsbook affiliate network betnumbers, giving it parity with first goal scorer markets in terms of popularity.
The growth in mobile betting during the tournament represented a âvery strong swing towards mobile and tabletsâ for BetVictor, and Coral PR director Simon Clare said that mobile turnover at the firm had been âstellarâ throughout.
With the tournament drawing to a close this weekend however the task at hand is likely to quickly switch to keeping those newly acquired customers on board. Special offers and sign-up bonuses have certainly helped drive customer acquisition rates, however directing these newly acquired to the sportsbook app and keeping them there is a different, and altogether more difficult, job.
The World Cup has provided an opportunity for bookmakers to see whereabouts they stood on mobile and, with the new Premier League season just a month away from starting, they will undoubtedly be keen to take what has been learned into the next sporting battleground.