Why gamble on an enhanced odds welcome deal?
Matt Harris, head of content at 90 Digital, looks at whether such offers really lead to good value
The weekend of 14th and 15th of January produced a real mixed bag of results for anyone looking for an enhanced odds, new customer promotion. Bookmakers scoured the live TV schedules but from the Premier League sides, only Spurs and Chelsea, boosted by BetBright and Coral respectively, delivered at enhanced figures of 7/1 and 33/1 while Manchester City were perhaps a predictable casualty based on current form, as they went down to Everton.
New customers to 888Sport could at least pick one winner from either side in the Sunday clash between Manchester United and Liverpool but the subsequent 1-1 draw spoilt a large number of virtual betting slips.
You could always switch sports and look at the boosted boxing odds on the red hot favourite James DeGale as he took on outsider Badou Jack in an attempt to unify the IBF and WBC Super Middleweight belts. The subsequent draw was an unsatisfactory conclusion for all involved, not least those punters who taken up price boosts on DeGale with Coral and 888Sport.
Despite those mixed outcomes, nothing could stop the march of price boosts as Coral led the way with a monumental figure of 28/1, rising from 1/25, on a goal being scored in the big Saturday fixture between Manchester City and Spurs.
We should always mention that offers are subject to terms and conditions and while the bulk of any profits are generally paid as free bet tokens, these can ultimately lead to serious value if staked successfully. As an egaming PR concept, they are popular and are tailored perfectly to instant news outlets on social media but, when compared with a bookmaker’s existing welcome deal, do they really offer good value?
Taking an early punt
In some cases, the bookmaker’s standard welcome offer could ultimately prove to be far more lucrative than the enhanced promotion. In the case of Coral, a losing punt on a price boost will result in a free bet token of £5.00, or currency equivalent, whereas the generic deal returns £20.00 in free bets for a qualifying stake of £5.00.
Anyone choosing between the two is effectively taking an early gamble which is essentially why we’re all here in the first place but for one bookmaker at least, the enhanced offer is looking to target a certain demographic, rather than a potential customer who is weighing up their options.
“An enhanced welcome promotion is designed to attract the casual punter who may just be interested in the specific event to which the boost applies,” explained BetBright’s marketing communications manager Conor White.
“There is a strong message being sent out here and the offer is very much ‘in the moment’,” he continued. “It’s about backing a certain event at a certain date and time and the specific promotion has a very limited shelf life, whereas the standard offer sits there and can be taken up at any time.
Boosting exposure
It’s interesting to note that the vast majority of bookmakers involved with these offers provide little or no promotional content to back them up. Yes there are tweets from official accounts, backed up by several hundred similar announcements via affiliates but very little blog content exists.
BetVictor’s Million Pound Goal campaign offered a good example of how statistics and narrative can help punters make an informed decision. A content campaign was built around the eye catching promotion, arming competition entrants with all the stats they needed from 56 years of previous tournaments.
Ultimately, it could be argued that the information was of little assistance as we saw the first opening goal in the final of the Euros to come via a substitute and the first opener from extra time. Presumably the eventual winner hadn’t read the content but that’s not really the point. Would new customers to 888Sport have been more confident of taking Manchester City at 7/1 to beat Everton in a tough away fixture if they’d been aware that City were previously unbeaten here in three seasons, winning twice?
If a PR trick is being missed at all, it’s a lack of information for the bettor who could be swayed further if they felt that the stats were with them. BetBright’s comments underline that these are promotions for the casual punter and also for those who have a specific interest in certain events but they are more likely to be swayed if they feel that the odds, enhanced or otherwise, are stacked in their favour.
Regardless of this, promotions of this kind are set to grow with Swansea City Official Sponsors BETEAST among the latest to add enhanced odds offers. Prices, certainly in the case of Coral, who lifted Brighton from 19/20 to 40/1 to beat Sheffield Wednesday on January 20, seem to be getting bigger and the popularity, judging by the fact they are being embraced by new entrants such as BETEAST and Bet on Brazil, seems certain to increase significantly in the coming months.
Matt Harris is head of content at 90Digital.com and a freelance sports writer who contributes regularly to betting.betfair.com and bet.unibet.co.uk