Parlay bets, known for their potential for massive payouts, represent a lucrative opportunity for sportsbooks and betting operators. In this article, we'll delve into the world of parlay bets and explore strategies to boost their popularity among both experienced and newcomer bettors. By understanding the impact of parlay bets on gross gaming revenue and breaking down barriers to engagement, you can unlock the full potential of these high-margin wagers.
How Parlay Bets Affect the Gross Gaming Revenue
In the sports betting industry, parlay bets tend to yield higher profit margins compared to single bets. This is primarily due to the multiplication of odds with each added selection, significantly increasing the potential for a substantial payout while maintaining a favorable edge for the operator.
The allure of potentially large payouts attracts bettors, increasing betting activity and a higher overall handle. Also, Parlay bets appeal to recreational bettors seeking the excitement of a big win.
While parlay bets have the potential for substantial payouts, operators can employ risk management strategies to mitigate potential losses. This includes setting maximum payout limits and adjusting odds to ensure a profitable margin despite significant payouts.
Parlay bets create opportunities for cross-marketing other sports or events. Operators can encourage bettors to gather outcomes from different sports or leagues in their parlays. For a GR8 Sportsbook, we took it a step further by introducing a Bet Builder feature. This feature enables bettors to merge multiple outcomes from a single event into one bet. With Bet Builder, our clients can enhance their potential profit margins and reduce GGR reliance on the outcomes of primary markets.
Kostiantyn Sazhyn, Product Manager at GR8 Tech
Yes, parlay bets represent the most beneficial bets in total betting turnover, but how do we engage bettors to place them more? To understand that, we need to dive deeper into blockers both experienced and newcomers face in parlay betting.
How to Engage Experienced Bettors with Parlay Bets
Thanks to our background as an operator, UX research studies, and interviews with bettors, we have identified the following barriers among experienced players and tips on how operators can solve them.
Whom We Consider Experienced Bettors
💭“Enthusiasts of the sports betting world, some of them witnessed the days of wagering on paper slips.”
Experienced bettors bring a wealth of knowledge, discipline, and strategic acumen. Their approach is characterized by careful research, responsible bankroll management, and a commitment to continuous improvement. Pros explore betting opportunities for other sports and dabble in e-football, basketball, tennis, and hockey. While most use smartphones, older players prefer desktops. Betting is their entertainment, hobby, and thrill source, not primarily driven by monetary gains. They are passionate sports fans, following top championships and analyzing team strengths through sports media.
Barriers to Engaging Experienced Bettors with Parlay Bets
⛔️ Higher Risk: Parlay bets are inherently riskier than single bets. Experienced bettors typically prioritize risk management and may prefer bets with a more controlled level of risk to avoid losses.
⛔️ Complexity: Experienced bettors may prefer straightforward bets where they can apply their expertise more effectively. Some consider parlay bets too complex to gather, especially in live. Many sports bettors prefer live betting, where picking parlay bets is even more challenging than in pre-match. This is because events can evolve so rapidly that players may find creating their bets in real-time challenging.
⛔️ Waiting Time: Bettors seek instant gratification, particularly in single bets, where they value receiving immediate results. On the other hand, parlay bets often involve a longer waiting period to determine their outcomes, which can discourage some players.
💡 For example, customers in South Asia enjoy betting on cricket and dislike waiting. During a cricket championship, there is typically one event per day on average, so if you bet on three events, you would have to wait for the settlement for 2-3-4 days. This does not add points to parlay bets.
⛔️ Lack of Knowledge: One thing unites experienced and newcomer bettors—some don’t even know about the existence of parlay bets. Even with years of experience, some still do not know or have never placed a parlay bet.
How we address barriers faced by experienced bettors
Overcoming Higher Risk Barrier
By gathering best practices, UX research results, and operators' feedback, we've developed mechanics to engage players in parlay bets. For instance, we offer bonuses like Bet Insurance and Parlay Boost to tackle the Higher Risk barrier.
Bet Insurance
Bet Insurance allows players to receive their bet back if it was lost. For operators, it is a great fit for onboarding or reactivation. As for players, they can't withdraw these funds but can continue placing bets using them.
This mechanic also includes outcome insurance for parlay bets, where players can still win even if one of several outcomes doesn't happen.
Parlay Boost
By including multiple outcomes, players can enhance the overall parlay odds. For instance, if they combine four outcomes with a total odds value of 5.6, using an express boost could elevate it to 6.5. This feature doesn't reduce risks but amplifies a player's enthusiasm to explore parlay bets thanks to the improved odds. This mechanic also effectively introduces new players to parlay betting instead of sticking to single bets.
Each type of bonus and mechanic is integrated with CRM, allowing for customization and deployment using flexible player segmentation.
Overcoming Complexity
Addressing complexity is a significant challenge, necessitating continuous development and product enhancements, primarily focusing on simplifying the parlay betting process. To achieve this, user-friendly interfaces and bet construction tools are pivotal.
Here are some features designed to streamline navigation and facilitate the placement of parlay bets, making the experience more accessible. Moreover, the features mentioned below have a discovery effect, engaging bettors to explore the new types of bets and online betting market offerings.
From Single Bet to Parlay
This feature incorporates an algorithm that evaluates the bets made by the player and other bettors. When a player is about to place a Single bet, the feature suggests engaging outcomes for him to add to the Parlay bet. This not only assists the operator in promoting Parlay bets but also streamlines the process for the player, saving them time when assembling Parlay bets.
Overcoming a Lack of Knowledge
To overcome the lack of knowledge about parlay bets, operators can offer clear and concise explanations of what they are and how they work. Creating step-by-step guides and video tutorials that walk bettors through placing parlay bets on the platform can be helpful. Additionally, highlighting the potential for larger payouts with parlay bets compared to individual bets piques the interest of newcomers.
Besides, it's crucial to implement responsible gambling practices that safeguard against impulsive and high-risk betting, thereby preventing substantial losses.
How to Engage Newcomers With Parlay Bets
In the same way, we briefly overview the reasons why newcomers avoid parlay bets and what operators can do about it. Their barriers sometimes cross with those of experienced bettors, but they have another priority.
Whom We Consider Newcomers
💭“I believe that my favorite team is going to win!”.
Newcomers are relatively inexperienced or unfamiliar with sports betting or gambling activities. They recently entered the betting and may need a deeper understanding of terminology, strategies, or the various types of bets available. Newcomers can include casual sports fans, first-time bettors, and recreational gamblers. They prefer mobile devices and often place bets with friends.
Barriers to Newcomers With Parlay Bets
⛔️ Lack of Knowledge: Simply as it is, they don't know about their existence.
⛔️ Uncertainty and Lack of Strategy: Successful parlay requires a reasonable degree of confidence in multiple selections. Newcomers may not trust their judgment enough to combine multiple bets into one. Moreover, they may still need to develop a solid betting strategy and stick to more straightforward bets until they gain more experience.
⛔️ Higher Risk: Newcomers might be risk-averse and prefer single bets where they can win even if one of their selections loses.
⛔️ Complexity: Understanding potential payouts in parlay bets can be challenging for newcomers. The multiplication of odds and the varying sizes of parlays can make it difficult to calculate potential winnings.
What Can We Do to Engage Newcomers to Parlay Betting Online
The bonuses and mechanics described above are effective as ways to attract experienced players and as entry points for newcomers.
Our research has shown that when making their first parlay bets using a Top Parlay feature, beginners are interested in collecting such a bet themselves and forming their own expertise.
Offering parlay-specific promotions is an effective strategy to engage newcomers. Incentives like bonuses, free bets, or enhanced odds for parlay bets can encourage newcomers to try their hand at parlay betting. Operators can consider including parlay bets in their welcome bonus package to attract new users.
The key solution for immersing newcomers is creating global onboarding with a comprehensive player flow. Such onboarding should be interactive and based on segmentation of the player base: there is no point in showing a newly registered player features that bettors with extensive experience use.
Kostiantyn Sazhyn, Product Manager at GR8 Tech
Ensuring the betting platform has an intuitive interface with a straightforward process for placing parlay bets is essential. The design of the bet slip should make it easy for users to add and remove selections, with clear instructions and options for adjusting bets. However, improving navigation and player journey is a continuous process requiring expertise and constant development.
The Finish Line
Engaging experienced bettors in parlay bets requires addressing their concerns, including risk and complexity in navigation on the platform. Implementing bonuses like Bet Insurance and Parlay Boost and simplifying parlay bet placement through user-friendly interfaces will entice them.
On the other hand, newcomer bettors may need more knowledge, have uncertainties, or be risk-averse. To engage them, operators should explain parlay bets clearly, provide step-by-step guides, and highlight the potential for larger payouts. Tailored promotions and intuitive interfaces also work here from a discovery perspective.
