Online sports betting market size is growing astronomically in Nigeria and the number of new bookmakers queuing to be licensed, to enter the market is also growing on daily basis. Presently, there are not much of regulations or enforcements to reduce gambling behaviour which is now sweeping through the women folks and more dangerously children within school age, under 18 years.
Research
There's the need to look into the risk these changing behaviours may pose to family ethics and the society as a whole.. The high risk of addiction, especially the addiction of children and mothers becoming chronic gamblers and psycharitic cases may lead to further breakdown of societal norms. There's a serious need for enactment and enforcement of laws to regulate these excesses.
Online sports betting with little or no differentiation of products, where innovations are quickly replicated by competitors and new bookmakers are flooding what looks like an already overcrowded market. There's the need for a reliable knowledge of what's triggering the growth rate, changing habits of bettors and competitors new strategies, market share and SWOT analysis requires research. Indeed, both the government, regulators and operators requires in depth research and development reports on a regular basis.
According to reports from GreenHunter Sports International, the growing youth population, active knowledge and love for sports which triggers gambling, severe economic hardship and high rate of unemployment as well as survival instincts are luring even people who would have ordinarily detested gambling.
The growth in the use of mobile phones and cheaper internet access in Nigeria are also fueling the spread, convience and privacy of betting. Someone could be secretly addicted to online sports betting without his pastor, family or friends being aware, until it gets out of hand.
Marketing and Promotion
Marketing becomes very essential in an online market environment wherein products differentiation are minimal and prices are largely inelastic... to a point that bettors could hardly tell the difference between a brand's offering and another. The game is now about pulling marketing stunts, hyper advertising, sales promotions and public relations. Let look at the 5Ps.
1. Products: sports betting software used in building most of the brands platforms are largely the same, which aims at building easy to use mobile and desktop responsive website that present lots of games and odds to bet from.
2. Place: perhaps, only Bet9ja, Betking, WGB still provide attractive sale shops across the country, which serves as a rendezvous for sports lovers and chronic gamblers. Most of other brands may have preferenced promoting their own website online. Using sports and sports related websites as sale points, to redirect their traffic to their betting platform.
The trend is 64% bettors bet with their mobile or desktop devices, only about 45% still go to bet at the shops. Bookmakers make a lot of effort in creating sale points online through Affiliate marketing partnership (CPA sharing formula) or Traffic Impressions relationship (CPM payment formula) with related sports website owners.
Promotion: bookmakers have no options but to use advertisement and advertising to ensure their brand are always in front of bettors mind.
The bookmakers advertising message tries to de-emphasize luck and overemphasize bettors control, and with their knowledge and skills in the game, they are most likely to win. The bookmakers also de-emphasizes the risk of losing and overemphasizes winning and what bettors can do with their prize money.
Bookmakers are using every media platform: Television, Radio, Newspapers, and billboard, social media, blogs, online magazines... to creatively send out their brand message.
Bookmakers employ a lot of sales promotional activities from several kind of bonuses to both volume and frequent betting rewards.
Public Relations: some bookmakers are now employing relationship marketing strategies where they try to engage and build goodwill between their brand and bettors through the sponsorship of their lifestyle. 1×Bet sponsorship of Africa cup of nations, Bet9ja and Betway sponsorsh big brother naija...
In conclusion
The ever changing habits of bettors and sports environmental landscape will require that government regulators, bookmakers arel regularly engaging in research and employment of dynamic marketing strategies if they need to maintain or grow their market share and remain relevant in the business.
