AFCON expected to give huge profit to African sportsbooks

Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) will take place in Europe’s summer for the first time, having been moved from its traditional January/February slot. Without the all-consuming Premier League to compete against, the tournament will have the opportunity to hog the spotlight with prime TV slots and blanket media coverage. Further, fixtures are scheduled every evening and on the weekends, and there are more football superstars in the competition than ever before, such as golden boot winners Salah and Mane. The decision to expand the tournament to include more teams and matches should also provide a major boost to turnover. Competitions like the Africa Cup of Nations are scarce, so fan fatigue won’t be a factor and engagement should be high with every match. Traditionally, major tournaments deliver goals by the hatful. At last summer’s World Cup, there was only one 0-0 draw. So in Africa, where bettors have a tendency to bet on goal-based markets already, the overs on goal lines will be popular. The old-school accumulator will continue to be a major source of turnover as the tournament unfolds however, similar to the 2018 World Cup, 

Football fans love to get behind their own country in international tournaments, even if their chances are slim. Home-team bias has been prevalent in outright betting in the lead up to the tournament, and this will continue to be the case on a match-by-match basis thereafter. More often than not, these types of bettors are not price sensitive so having the control over their trading book to raise margin on certain market-types will prove a great way to boost profits. Furthermore, thanks to blanket TV coverage of every match, in-play will be massive, too. African sportsbooks can expect in-play to make up a growing proportion of turnover this summer, so offering a low friction live betting product with engaging markets, fast settlement and few suspensions is vital.

Moreover, because many African stars are gaining plaudits on the global stage, player performance markets relating to these individuals will also generate great activity. By gamifying outcomes like the number of shots or whether a card will be shown for a single player, these types of markets create engaging micro storylines which adds to the viewing experience.

Tournament punters are a high-value demographic so it’s no surprise that sportsbooks invest heavily in acquiring new football customers. Local tournaments generate a digital media buzz, with the locals checking their smartphones and social media to stay up-to-date.

For sportsbooks, there is a huge opportunity to exploit these channels in order to increase their brand exposure to a highly receptive audience. By having access to specialist technology which harnesses real-time audience behavioural data, sportsbooks can run targeted marketing campaigns that also integrate live football performance stats and real time odds to maximise engagement. Over a decade of running these campaigns has enabled us to develop a proven strategy that delivers the lowest cost of acquisition for the highest number of new customer sign-ups.