UK survey shows impact of betting offers and reminders 

The YouGov study looked at betting experiences during the 2022 UEFA Champions League Final.

UK.- A new study has shed some light on the impact of offers and reminders on betting behaviour. The consumer research and data firm YouGov studied betting experiences during this year’s UEFA Champions League final, with surveys carried out among monthly bettors before and after the event.

According to the study, 54 per cent of players agreed with the statement that offers and reminders “helped remind me to place a bet”. Bettor engagement increased when promotions were sent directly in the days closer to the match. 

Of those players who bet more than they had anticipated, 56 per cent said they were incited to bet by offers sent directly by operators. That’s a notably higher proportion than those influenced by ads on TV and online (15 per cent in each case), social media ads (13 per cent) and ads in betting shop windows and newspapers (7 per cent each).

Of those players who bet on the UEFA Champions League final but hadn’t intended to, 65 per cent said promotions were the main reason. At the same time, 64 per cent said they had made late bets because they had been “holding out” to see if a company offered a free bet or special offer. 

Meanwhile, 57 per cent of respondents said that they saw betting mainly as a way to increase their engagement with the sporting event by giving them a stake in the result.

YouGov said: “Our pre-study research showed that bet365 was the preferred brand choice ahead of UCL Final. 42 per cent of monthly sports bettors in the UK expected to place a bet with them,” YouGov explained.

“Even more ended up doing so and bet365 enjoyed the highest levels of bets placed for UCL Final among monthly sports bettors in the UK (50 per cent). Sky Bet is a distant second (26 per cent) followed by William Hill (11 per cent), Betfair (10 per cent), Paddy Power (10 per cent), and Ladbrokes (8 per cent).

“The increase in bettors who had not expected to place a bet with bet365 was mainly driven by low-value bets.”

The timeline for the UK government’s overhaul of gambling legislation remains in doubt pending the selection of a new prime minister. Details of what’s to be expected in the long-delayed gambling white paper have been leaked, but it’s not clear to what extent the next administration may want to put its own stamp on the review.

See also: Flutter to fund Responsible Gambling Council marketing research