Skip to content

Making a Bet on Branding

In recent years, online gambling has emerged as the most popular and fastest growing consumer entertainment platform. The gambling industry has always been driven by marketing and technology innovation, and hardly a month passes before a new branding strategy or marketing tactic is rolled out. Its extreme profitability is why there are so many online…

In recent years, online gambling has emerged as the most popular and fastest growing consumer entertainment platform. The gambling industry has always been driven by marketing and technology innovation, and hardly a month passes before a new branding strategy or marketing tactic is rolled out. Its extreme profitability is why there are so many online sites where you can place bets and join in on games of chance and put real money on the line.

Today, there are so many different types of online gaming and betting companies on the internet.  Staking out and betting on a unique  brand positioning is their best chance to break stand out from the crowd and attract new players.

What can marketers learn from online gaming companies about powerful branding and how does this translate back to your brand?  If you’d like to learn how, read on!

First off, there are many different types of betting companies. Some may specialize in one type of gaming service, while others offer various services. Here is a quick overview:

Bookies, also commonly referred to as betting shops or bookmaking offices, specialize in gambling on sports, horse racing, greyhound racing, and more. The main difference between a bookie and an online gaming company is the fact that they don’t have a website to visit. Instead, you might go to a physical retail location in order to place a bet. This is very common in many parts of Europe and many bookie brands are highly visible retail brands “on the High Street”.  In America or Australia, sports betting is highly regulated and illegal in many states – so bookies generally operate in the shadows, are rarely visible and rely heavily on word of mouth marketing and personal referrals.

Bookmakers are the same as bookies, but they also provide an online betting platform that offers players the added convenience of being able to place a bet from anywhere. There are websites that specialize in different sports or across many different games of chance.  Bookmakers are sometimes referred to as “bookmaking offices” or “betting shops”.  These companies have embraced the power of digital marketing and use simple brand stories and advanced search and social marketing tactics to convert their players online.

Betting websites are different from the others because these are somewhat of a hybrid between online betting website and a retail location. This type of company brokers deals with companies that hold live streaming events for you to gamble on. They allow customers to create an account through their website and then they send SMS and email push notifications about different events that are going on around the world. This is a way for them to reach players who do not live in countries where all of these events are taking place.  As such, these sites are highly regulated and banned in countries where gambling is illegal.

Online casinos are plentiful today on the Internet. These are websites where you can go to play traditional games of chance, some of which may be casino-themed versions of normal video games. When betting at these “virtual casinos”, just like in Las Vegas or Macau, the odds generally favor “the house”.  As a result, profitability for these companies is massive.  They can spend freely on marketing to tell their brand story and make lucrative promotional offers to attempt to attract and convert players.  They invest in sophisticated analytic tools that allow them to track and monitor the betting behaviors of players and even predict the offers that will be most appealing to them.

Sportsbooks are all about sports betting. If you are into betting on your favorite team or just looking to have some fun with bets, then this is the place for you! There are various types of sports that you can bet on here and they will always have odds listed publicly in order to make it fair for everyone involved.

Betting Apps are just what they sound like. They are applications that you can download onto your phone, tablet or laptop to have access to online gaming from wherever you go. There are several different options when it comes to these types of apps, so do some research before downloading any one app in particular.

Betting review websites like Smart Betting Guide provide research on a wide variety of  online gaming companies to give you all of the information that you need. If you are looking for something in particular, this is a great place to start.

The relationship between brand innovation and online gaming is an integral and interesting one. If it weren’t for the desire of players to experience gaming in new and electrifying ways, industry marketers would not have invested in marketing and gameplay innovations. Likewise, if it were not for advanced marketing tactics and the capabilities of the industry to apply the advancements, online gaming popularity would not have risen to where it is today. Each of these is driving the other forward.

If you’re ready to make a bet on brand transformation to win new customers and create remarkable customer experiences, check out my book Marketing Interrupted, and stay connected with us by subscribing to our blog.

Elevate Your Brand With Topright — Where Strategic Insights Fuel Success

Let's Talk