Unibet makes personalisation play with Apple Watch

Unibet has placed “one-to-one” marketing at the heart of its Apple Watch strategy following the decision not to include betting functionality in its debut wearable product, the firm’s head of new channels Robert Smith told eGaming Review.

The Stockholm-listed firm released an update of its iOS Sports Betting app last week, integrating Apple Watch functionality featuring odds, live score updates and results, but currently no opportunity for in-app betting.

Rival products from William Hill, Ladbrokes and Coral all offer betting functionality, but Smith told eGaming Review he believed the greatest potential was in creating a personalised “one-to-one” channel between the operator and its customers with the Apple Watch acting as an additional communication filter.

“I’m not convinced that an ever smaller screen for betting will be that useful because you need your iPhone at the same time, so why bet on your Watch when you’ve got the phone anyway,” Smith said.

“It seems to me that the most important thing is to get the call to action to bet on the Watch while your phone is in your pocket.”

“It’s all about personalisation as it’s even more personal than the iPhone which was previously the most personal device you could have as an Apple user,” he added.

However, Smith said the operator hadn’t ruled out betting functionality in the future and would assess the opportunities when the Apple Watch is launched in some of the operator’s largest markets including the Nordics.