When a punter visits an online betting site like any of those recommended by Legalbet.UK it may all look entertaining fun and nothing else. It’s a very select niche, far away from other major online activities like shopping, studying or browsing YouTube.
But bookmaking is a very serious and very big industry. Bookmakers build their websites, mobile apps and sportsbooks to attract players to risk money with them. Of course, there is a risk on their end too, in having to pay out on winning bets. But bookmakers don’t run at a loss, so it may be a good business model to take some indicators from.
How Does A Betting Site Work?
At the very core of bookmaking is an entity that is willing to accept bets. A betting site takes stakes from players. It keeps all those from losing bets and hands back profit on winning wagers. But it is of course, far more nuanced of a business than that.
Bookmakers are in control of the odds that are set in the sportsbook. So they are calling the shots there. Upon each of those markets, a bookmaker will have worked in profit margin too. So even on bets that they pay out on, they make something.
That’s because, in its simplest form, they don’t offer exact Even Money odds on a 50/50 market like Over/Under 2.5 goals. It may only be a 10/11 option on the favoured Over 2.5 Goals pick, for example.
Therefore, for every £1 staked on a winning Over 2.5 Goals bet, they would pay out only £0.91 instead of a full £1. Considering that the winning payouts essentially come from the losing bets on that same market, the bookie is not necessarily handing over their own money.
But that’s just a money overview of an online betting site. What features do betting sites possess that would work well in other areas of business?
Attracting New Customers
Betting sites need to keep new customers coming in. The more that they can pull in through their virtual internet door, then the more money the bookmaker is going to make.
One main incentive that an online betting site offers is a welcome bonus. Many lure punters in with a free bet for having their first wager on a new account settled. That’s the big promotional banner in the shop window.
But customer engagement is further done by features that are offered on the platform, and by other promotional offers for existing customers.
If customers can find long-standing promotional offers, say bet insurance on a losing accumulator, or maybe a rewards club offering free bets for a certain amount of stake played in a promotional period, along with big features like live sports streaming, there’s a very good chance of customer retention.
Payment Variety
This is important for customers. How are they going to fund an online betting account? Credit cards can’t be used by UK bettors for online betting by law.
But that doesn’t stop bookies from offering a variety of payment methods from debit cards, bank transfers and third-party payment systems like PayPal, Apple Pay, Skrill, Neteller and many more. The easier it is for a customer to make a payment, there’s less chance that they’ll go looking elsewhere.
Customer Support
All companies should have good customer support backing them up. It really doesn’t matter what the size of the company is, survival is just harder when customers are not happy. One big feature of online betting sites in terms of customer support is offering 24/7 live chat.
Not all online bookmakers offer this, so those who do, stand out in the crowd. It’s going that extra mile to ensure customers are kept happy, even if it’s 3 am.
Optimise for Mobile
Building an app as a platform is pretty much an essential for betting sites. Having a convenient presence on a user’s phone, where a click quickly opens up a sportsbook, is huge.
It’s quicker than loading a mobile web browser and logging in, and apps are generally more user-friendly. Plus they can be used to deliver push notifications right into the view of every customer they have. Mobile is the way.
Masters of Marketing?
There is such a continuous buzz about online sports betting. Any time that a big sporting event is on the near horizon, like a World Cup, the Grand National or Wimbledon Tennis, an immediate thought swings towards placing a bet on the outcome.
All that’s come about because of years and years of marketing by bookmakers. Betting sites are good at this and they have to be in such a competitive sector. They know how to get punters and how to retain them, and there are lessons in that to listen to.
Article written by Alex J. Thompson
