Beyond tournament spikes: turning event acquisition into year-round growth

Harrison Barret, VP of Business Development at Soft2Bet, argues that operators must look beyond registration spikes and build retention journeys that keep tournament players engaged after the final whistle.

Opinion.- A surge in registrations can make a major tournament campaign look successful on the surface. However, operators can only properly assess its overall success in the months that follow, once they have a clearer picture of what that initial surge delivered. Some players will keep betting when domestic football returns, while others may disappear as soon as their national team is eliminated.

During Euro 2024, the European market recorded more than two million active online sports betting accounts in June alone, up from 1.25 million a year earlier. Across the first half of that year, overall stakes rose 24 per cent year on year, while gross gaming revenue grew 16 per cent. The tournament added momentum to an already growing market, although betting activity increased faster than revenue.

Those figures show strong growth, but say little about whether the players acquired during the tournament were profitable. Sporting results can affect margins, while marketing and rewards still have to be paid for. A high CPA leaves little room for players who disappear after a few weeks. For operators facing margin pressure, the real question is how many of those players stay long enough to justify the spend.

The challenge of retaining tournament players

Welcome bonuses have become part of the furniture in online gambling. Players know where to find them, and operators know what they cost. A deposit match might attract a player during a major tournament such as the Euros, but once the tournament is over, it may take another offer to bring them back. The operator is then paying again to keep a player it has already acquired.

The Gambling Commission’s Euro 2024 research found that many tournament bettors intended to bet on other sporting events, although those intentions were no more common after the competition than before it. As the surveys involved different groups, the findings cannot establish how many players actually continued betting once the Euros ended.

Building player loyalty beyond the tournament

When players sign up during a major tournament, operators can ask which teams and competitions they follow before introducing a short mission with clear rules and a visible progress bar. Finishing it could unlock another goal for their next visit. Product and CRM teams should have those next steps ready before the tournament starts, so the experience continues into the domestic season.

Someone who followed an international striker during the Euros may want to see that player’s club fixtures when domestic football resumes. Others might prefer a niche sport, while players who have shown an interest in casino games could discover relevant titles where the market permits it. Recommendations can then change with the calendar and the interests players reveal along the way.

Weekly missions offer fresh goals without erasing earlier progress, while seasonal challenges give players milestones to work towards over a longer period. Those milestones might recognise tutorial completion or mini-game objectives rather than increased wagering. Operators still need to control the cost of these cyclical rewards, and CRM messages should reflect each player’s progress and communication preferences.

In the weeks after the final, a product or CRM lead can review which recommendations bring players back and where mission participation begins to fade. Those findings can guide improvements before the next major acquisition campaign.

Year-round engagement with MEGA

Soft2Bet‘s gamification system lets operators build these journeys into their products. The standalone suite of gamification engines connects through an API, allowing businesses to add new activities to their existing casino or sportsbook platforms without changing providers.

During the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Soft2Bet introduced MEGA Shoot to selected brands, giving players a penalty-shootout challenge alongside the tournament. Betinia’s MEGA 11 links football-management missions to sportsbook activity. Rewards, tier progression and leaderboards give players something to follow between matches.

Operators can configure engine’s rewards, qualifying triggers and player segments to reflect each brand and its audience. They can adjust the activities as the sports calendar changes and they learn more about player preferences. Soft2Bet’s CRM supports personalised campaigns and lifecycle journeys, helping teams keep messages relevant as players move between competitions and activities.

These games carry ongoing costs, so operators need clear budgets and targets tied to player lifetime value. Their contribution becomes clearer when teams can see whether players continue returning after the tournament that first brought them in.

Measure what lasts beyond the tournament

To judge whether a tournament delivered lasting value, operators should follow new depositing players at 30, 60 and 90 days, then across a full year. Churn and contribution after acquisition, rewards and operating costs will show what those players are worth.

Where practical, a randomised control group can help assess the retention programme’s impact. Comparing acquisition payback with ordinary-season cohorts, using the same definition of an active player, can then guide the next event’s budget.

Major tournaments will continue to attract large numbers of players. Turning that initial interest into profitable annual growth depends on what operators offer once the fixtures end: relevant experiences, rewards that make commercial sense and reasons to return throughout the year.