Oddschecker insights: Royal Ascot highlights Ladbrokes Coral’s dual brand strategy
Coral’s competitive pricing strategy sees it climb clickshare rankings while bet365 dominates the premier flat meeting
Coral climbed nine places in the most competitively-priced bookmaker table during Royal Ascot 2018, according to new figures from Oddschecker.
The UK sportsbook ranked fifth in total overround this year, up from 14th in 2017 –placing behind the likes of Sportingbet, 888 and Spreadex.
In contrast, Ladbrokes’ pricing generosity deteriorated markedly in a move that echoes the World Cup pricing strategies of both Coral and Ladbrokes.
Ladbrokes’ Ascot clickshare fell by 1.18% due to the widening prices as Coral’s increased by 0.39%, providing “further evidence that the brands are beginning to pursue different strategies,” according to Oddschecker’s Guy Harding.
Former Ladbrokes Coral CEO Jim Mullen hailed the positive impact of a dual-brand approach on the group’s sports betting margins last year, althou some have questioned the efficacy of the approach.
Betfair’s Sportsbook was the standout winner in terms of Oddschecker clickshare at 2018’s race event, climbing nearly 3% year-on-year due to the betting API integration that allows Betfair punters to place bets through Oddschecker.
Bet365 fared less well due to a percentage decrease of 2.70%, but the operator maintains a dominant position, nearly 9 percentage points ahead of nearest rivals Sky Bet.