The Summer Olympic Games kick off today, bringing profitable opportunities for sports betting operators during the typically quiet post-UEFA Euro period. SOFTSWISS, a global tech expert with over 15 years of experience providing innovative iGaming solutions, shares valuable tips and strategies to help operators maximize their benefits during this major sporting event.
This year, the opening ceremony takes place outside traditional stadiums. The grand start of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games occurs on the Seine River, with 10,500 athletes from 206 countries floating down the river on boats. A notable feature of this year’s event that can attract a new audience is the debut of breaking (breakdancing) as a new competitive sport.
Targeting specific audiences
Operators have numerous opportunities for the Olympics beyond popular sports like football, basketball, and tennis. Athletes will compete in 45 disciplines, offering a strategy to attract niche sports fans. By offering diverse welcome bonuses, operators can expand their player base and introduce newcomers to their brand.
Geo-targeting is another approach. By allowing players to bet on their compatriots, operators can engage old and new bettors without causing adverse reactions.
Alexander Kamenetskyi, Head of SOFTSWISS Sportsbook, shares: “The Olympic Games bring another unique opportunity to the table. This year, the Olympics follow the UEFA Euro, allowing operators to re-engage ‘dormant’ players who typically ‘awaken’ for major football events like the FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro.”
Diversifying risks
The project’s stability increases with more sports bettors familiar with different sports. Therefore, operators are encouraged to aim to familiarise players with as many sports as possible. Traditionally, bettors tend to wager on team sports like football, which should attract around half of all bets. Other popular sports include basketball and tennis, which are expected to garner up to 40% of wagers, with swimming, archery, gymnastics, and track and field also drawing attention.
Alexander Kamenetskyi, Head of SOFTSWISS Sportsbook, adds: “The Olympic Games offer a wide range of attractive disciplines for wagering this year. Fans will undoubtedly follow the newly crowned European champions, the Spain national football team. Tennis, featuring familiar faces like reigning French Open champions Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek, and its iconic venue, Roland Garros, is another highlight. We recommend finding compelling stories and promoting them to the audience, using free bets or other bonuses to diversify betting interests.”
Reactivating inactive players
Events featuring national teams provide an excellent opportunity to reactivate inactive players through various marketing tools. The simplest method is launching an email newsletter. The SOFTSWISS Sportsbook team advises its partners to create country-specific offers with bonuses for bets on their national team.
Alexander Kamenetskyi, Head of SOFTSWISS Sportsbook, adds: “It’s important to consider the casino and sportsbook as one iGaming project. This strategy can easily be applied to reactivating former casino players.”
Earlier this year, SOFTSWISS introduced the Sportsbook Budget Calculator. This tool includes winning practices for launching a sportsbook, and the ready-to-use P&L calculator assists with budgeting.