Soft2Bet and iGaming Academy: training at scale with a commitment to excellence

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The US sports betting market has grown exponentially over the past few years highlighting an increased need for sportsbooks to increase their footprint in new states and engage new players. However, staying ahead of the competition is a challenge and the changing landscape is calling for innovative ways to stay ahead. Starting where many don’t and tackling the problem of invalid traffic has the potential to give many bookies the edge they need to maximise return on investment (ROI).

Six years ago, online sports betting was almost entirely outlawed in North America. Over the past few years, the number of states that have legalised sports betting has increased drastically. Not only this, but combined with an increase in mobile betting, the number of bettors on the scene in the US is growing meaning there is a lot more money in play.

Sportsbetting is now legal in 38 out of the 52 states with online betting legal in 29 of those according to LegalSportsReport. Relaxed legislation combined with an increase in mobile betting just means there is more opportunity for bookies to take advantage of the growth and make bigger returns. But without tackling invalid traffic that’s eating up budgets behind the scenes, they’re simply not going to make a return on ad spend and achieve legitimate conversions.

The Barriers to US Market Growth

By the end of the year, the online sports betting market in the US is anticipated to achieve a revenue of $9.65 billion as per Statista research. The new level of convenience and accessibility has attracted a new wave of players and thus an increase in the number of online sports betting platforms and apps available in the market. To attract and retain these players, bookies introduce more incentives to drive bets including boosted odds and free bets, however, this comes with its own set of challenges.

Invalid traffic is engagement that artificially inflates an advertiser’s costs, including non-human traffic, or activity designed to produce fraudulent impressions. Here with these incentives, invalid traffic in the form of bots comes into play. These automated bots create fake accounts and steal bonuses. Sophisticated networks of bad actors can leverage millions of IPs to commit bonus fraud almost entirely undetected by betting companies. What seems like a productive way to drive new customer acquisition actually ends up harming operators looking to keep a competitive edge in the expanding market.

As well as this, returning users could be responsible for budget losses and a lack of conversions. These are loyal customers, who sportsbooks want to retain, accessing the site through a paid search campaign. These existing users repeatedly clicking through drives up customer-acquisition costs (CACs) and resulting in a huge inefficiency in pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. Not managing these users will result in barriers when it comes to expanding into new US markets and truly making the most of the legislation changes.

The Answer for Bookies

So, for sportsbooks to beat the competition in US markets and make the returns they deserve, they must start by tackling invalid traffic. This doesn’t mean that marketing strategies should be limited to mitigating bots or implementing hard-line strategies that discount genuine traffic. Ultimately, the first thing operators need is visibility.

By having an overall view of which of its marketing methods are impacted most by bots, US operators can put themselves ahead of the competition and take the steps forward to implementing a technology solution that meets their needs. With clearing understanding of their traffic, sportsbooks can add a layer of protection which will result in significant savings and a much stronger conversion rate to depositing customers – effectively making the most of the expanding market.

When it comes to returning customers, sportsbooks can initiate custom validation rules whereby they set the number of times a user clicks on a paid ads campaign. This means budgets can be saved for genuine users who are more likely to convert without damaging current retention.

As well as this, shadow campaigns are an effective way of maintaining optimal audience engagement and the competitive edge US bookies are after. These are a duplicate of your current campaign but set up with lower cost-per-click (CPC) to funnel excessive clickers and returning users away from inadvertently driving up costs. By utilising custom validation rules and shadow campaigns, sportsbooks unlock previously wasted budgets that can be put straight back into acquiring new and nurturing existing customers. The result of this is maximised ROI from campaigns that thrive.

Gaining Visibility and Control to Win Big

The US sportsbetting industry is only expanding and generating more revenue year on year. Each betting company is looking to make the most of the relaxing legislation and take its share of the pie to maximise ROI. However, by not addressing the issue of invalid traffic or being at a loss of where to start entirely, they are losing more and more every day.

By unlocking a new level of visibility with real-time verification of traffic, bookies can gain trust and confidence in the validity of the data being used to scale and drive conversions with reliable and fact-driven investments. With confidence in the data they’re using to attract and retain audiences, sportsbooks are empowered to scale their operations across the US and maintain a competitive edge to win bigger each betting season.

Written by: Kalen Bushe, Vice President at TrafficGuard

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The international football betting business project will be required to conduct a bidding process to select investors, according to a recently issued government decree. Decree 23/2024 issued by the Government outlines the necessity of conducting bidding processes to select investors in accordance with the Bidding Law.

As per this decree, investors must participate in a bidding process if they intend to operate international football betting activities in Vietnam. In addition, projects related to investment in horse and dog racing, including betting activities, are also subject to bidding when two or more investors express interest.

This regulation is reiterated in Decree 06, which addresses the business of betting on horse racing, dog racing and international football, issued in 2017. At that time, the government allowed a pilot business to operate international football betting through a bidding process.

As of now, no business has been granted permission to pilot such ventures. Last year, a representative of a lottery business stated in their development strategy until 2025 that they plan to launch international football betting activities in compliance with the law.

Towards the end of 2021, the Ministry of Finance proposed amendments to Decree 06, introducing new points such as permitting betting on European national football championships and allowing players to purchase betting tickets online.

During that period, the Ministry of Finance also submitted to the government proposed changes to two conditions for investors. First, investors must have a minimum capital investment of VND1 trillion ($40.5 million), with the ownership ratio of all foreign investors not exceeding 50%. Additionally, companies must commit to contributing to the state budget a minimum of 5% of betting revenue in cash (excluding taxes).

However, this new decree has yet to be issued, which poses a challenge to the regulators in selecting pilot businesses.

Every year, law enforcement agencies uncover and prosecute illegal football betting rings that bet billions of Vietnamese dong on football matches around the world. Advertisements for online betting websites with names such as FB88, Fi88, Bet88 and others, flood the internet.

The illegal football betting market in Vietnam is estimated to be worth tens of billions of USD a year, yet the state struggles to control the flow of money and collect taxes.

Many foreign investors have expressed interest in the international football betting business in Vietnam. Several countries around the world have legalised this form of betting.

Analysts suggest that to attract investors in the betting sector, the Government needs a stringent and appropriate regulatory framework. This would provide citizens with a legal rather than an illegal option for their pastimes. In turn, the state budget would benefit from tax and fee revenue from betting activities.

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The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has welcomed the recent approval by the European Parliament of a Regulation introducing a new European Digital Identity (e-ID). The Parliament’s endorsement of the e-ID marks a significant milestone in the journey towards a more secure and inclusive digital environment for all citizens across the European Union (EU). The new e-ID will be a transformative tool that addresses several concerns in the digital sphere.

According to the Regulation, adopted by the Parliament on 29 February, the e-ID will allow citizens to identify and authenticate themselves online without having to resort to commercial providers – a practice that has, in the past, raised trust, security and privacy concerns related to the sharing of consumer data with third-party platforms. Using such a standardised, non-commercial identification method will ensure greater privacy protection for consumers, among other benefits. Additionally, the e-ID enhances security by offering consumers and businesses a trusted and standardised tool for online identification, minimising the risk of identity theft and fraud.

This streamlined approach will not only increase user confidence in digital transactions but will also reduce costs and administration for businesses, including gambling operators, by providing a singular verification tool they can use across the EU, instead of paying high fees for the use of commercial databases. The success of the e-ID will of course depend on a high participation rate among citizens. The use of the e-ID will be entirely voluntary for citizens and businesses, including gambling operators. Thus, gambling operators have the flexibility to determine whether they wish to integrate the e-ID tool into their know-your-customer processes.

EGBA has been a supporter of the e-ID since it was proposed by the European Commission in 2021, recognising its potential to revolutionise the way online services are accessed and utilised in the EU, offering a streamlined and secure means for individuals to verify their identity and engage in various digital activities. Since the proposal, EGBA has been encouraging the EU institutions to ensure that businesses, including gambling operators, can access and use the e-ID and benefit from its use. For the online gambling sector, the e-ID holds particular significance, as it provides players with an easy, secure, trustworthy, and singular option to confirm their identity in the EU.

The e-ID law, which amends the EU’s eIDAS Regulation, will now have to be formally endorsed by the EU Council of Ministers before its official adoption, expected before summer 2024. As a Regulation, it will automatically apply across all EU member states from the moment of its adoption.

“We welcome the European Parliament’s approval of a unified digital identity framework and are confident that the use of the new e-ID in our sector will lead to a more seamless and trustworthy online experience for players and help to reduce costs and administration for gambling operators. This innovative tool represents an important step towards building a more secure and user-friendly digital ecosystem, aligning with EGBA’s core objectives of promoting integrity, transparency, and a safe, consumer-centric playing environment,” Maarten Haijer, Secretary General of EGBA, said.