Gambling in the USA
BETTING HERO REVS UP COLLABORATION WITH NASCAR TO ENHANCE BETTING EXPERIENCE FOR RACING FANS
Betting Hero Research Uncovers Potential For Regional Betting Growth in the Sport.
Betting Hero, the leading customer acquisition, retention, and development partner for U.S. sportsbooks, has embarked on a consumer research collaboration with NASCAR to help the respective companies and their shared sportsbook operator clients better understand and serve North Carolina NASCAR fans with premium betting experiences.
Laying the foundation for continued fan engagement and future acquisition campaigns, Betting Hero has completed a research study, comprised of qualified bettors in the Tar Heel State to uncover their engagement preferences for NASCAR as both sports fans and bettors.
The study, which took place both online and in person in April 2024, shows a significant demand for NASCAR as a betting product in North Carolina. Respondents are almost three times more likely to bet on the sport than in previously surveyed states.
NASCAR ranked behind only the NFL, NBA, and MLB in betting activity by the study respondents, with 70% stating that they’ve watched a race for the first time because they’ve placed a bet on it.
“Having worked closely with NASCAR to educate its fans on the betting options available to them for several years, we have long believed in the opportunity to both attract new fans to the sport and better engage existing fans through thoughtfully curated betting experiences,” said Jai Maw, Co-Founder and President of Batting Hero.
Maw continued, ”As is shown in the North Carolina study conducted by our in-house consumer research division, there is a clear correlation between most fans’ enjoyment or engagement in a sporting event and their betting activity overall. However, NASCAR fans have to work a little harder than fans of other major sports to find their betting preferences due to less available markets and prop betting options on average. Those that can find their preferred betting markets could also be more likely to remain loyal to their sportsbook of choice than fans of other sports where available markets are somewhat commoditized.”
As a market audience, 86% of North Carolinians see betting as a true complement to sporting enjoyment. They’re also loyal and active bettors, with over half of respondents having downloaded three gambling apps and almost 90% still using their primary sportsbook after registration.
Significantly, certain sportsbooks surveyed showed a disproportionately high level of NASCAR betting activity compared to brand awareness in the target group, which could suggest that having a strong NASCAR betting offering is more important than other factors in the registration decision process.
“NASCAR has extremely passionate fans and we see sports betting as another way they can engage with sport,” said Joe Solosky, Managing Director of Sports Betting at NASCAR. “We are excited, but not surprised, to see the success of NASCAR as an offering through the launch of sports betting in the industry’s backyard of North Carolina and are continuing to better improve the NASCAR betting product to give fans more options to responsibly engage with action on the track. The study discovered that 70 percent of respondents watched a race for the first time because they placed a bet on it, and it shows that our efforts in the space can attract new fans as well.”
North Carolina has quickly risen to the top tier of states for NASCAR betting volume, ranking among the top three states in its first two months since launch. Across the 20 states that were live in March and April of 2023, NASCAR’s handle has seen a substantial 15% year-over-year growth. In states like Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Mississippi, NASCAR’s handle has surged by at least 50% compared to the previous year. Even more impressively, in Nevada and New York, NASCAR’s handle has doubled year over year, indicating a significant increase in interest and betting activity in these regions.
Resident Culture Bar & Kitchen will be hosting a NASCAR post-party on Saturday, May 25th, for the Xfinity race the weekend of the Coke 600 and a Race Watch party for the Cup Series Coke 600 on Sunday, May 26th. Betting Hero‘s team of experts will be in attendance to help answer any sports betting-related questions for fans and patrons while ensuring all enjoy their experience betting on NASCAR responsibly.
Gambling in the USA
Zula Casino Kicks Off its Spectacular 1-Year “Zula-versary” with a Month of Events and Promotions
Zula Casino launched its online social casino in the US exactly a year ago delivering more. More games. More rewards. More free-to-play entertainment through a personalized experience. Zula Casino marked its one-year launch by crossing the 1000 casino-game threshold – a milestone that positions it among the top platforms nationwide.
The month-long birthday bash intends to go over the top to give back to its amazing player community that helped make this first year so incredible. With its advent calendar format, players can unlock a special surprise each day ranging from a “Win-a-Vacation” event, a carnival event, free spins and new exclusive games, and a prize pool of over 25 billion Gold Coins (GC) plus 150,000 Sweeps Coins (SC) to be given out throughout the month. Over this period, Zula Casino will run other special events, including surprise happy hours with special coupons, various social media contests, and special giveaways.
“We’re incredibly proud of the player experience we’ve built over the last 12 months. The platform has garnered a substantial and loyal pool of players, and it’s not just because we offer one of the largest game selections from leading global providers, but also the exclusive experiences we’re providing, and the platform’s continued evolution with enhanced promotions, personalization, and seamless user experience,” said Tamar Laypan, Program Manager of Zula Casino.
Zula Casino has added over 1000 games across all categories over the past 12 months, including slots, jackpots, fish, table, plinko, megaways, crash, hold and win, tumble games, and more. These additions include top games like Big Bass Vegas and Fire Stampede, as well as branded exclusives like Gold Gold Gold 5000, supplied by Booming Games, and Sweet Bonanza 1000 by Pragmatic Play. With recent additions, Zula Casino now boasts 25 game providers, including Relax Gaming, Habanero, Evoplay, Pragmatic Play, RubyPlay, Gamzix, Let Us Entertain You Inc., to name a few.
Zula Casino flourished in a tough and highly competitive market, launching its proprietary-integrated platform in September of last year. With an average TrustPilot score of 4.6 and almost 9K reviews, the online social casino is among the highest-rated free-to-play sites in the market.
Zula Casino was also previously shortlisted for the prestigious Global SBC Awards in the category of “Rising Star in Casino”.
Diana Goode
NCPG Welcomes Diana Goode to the Board of Directors
NCPG has announced the appointment of Diana Goode to the National Council on Problem Gambling’s Board of Directors. Diana, who has served as the Executive Director of the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling (CCPG) since May 2018, brings over 25 years of nonprofit leadership experience to this role.
In her time with CCPG, Diana has championed initiatives that address problem gambling and promote responsible gaming across Connecticut. Additionally, she has played an active role on the NCPG Affiliates Committee, contributing valuable insights from her years of experience.
Before joining CCPG, Diana held executive roles in nonprofits focusing on poverty alleviation and financial literacy in Connecticut. Her academic credentials include a degree from Dartmouth College and an MBA in Finance and Marketing from the University of Connecticut. She resides in the Greater Hartford area, where she remains deeply engaged in her community.
Diana will serve an interim appointment in the Affiliates seat on the NCPG Board of Directors until Spring 2025.
Gambling in the USA
Gaming Executives Positive on Current Business Conditions, Cautious on Future Growth Expectations
Overall Balance Sheet Health, Access to Credit Continue to Improve
In the face of slowing revenue expansion, gaming industry leaders continue to hold an overall positive view of the current business situation, with a notable improvement in credit conditions, according to the latest American Gaming Association (AGA) Gaming Industry Outlook.
The majority of respondents (88%) view the current state of the gaming industry as either good or satisfactory. Meanwhile, executives have a more conservative outlook on future business conditions, with respondents split on whether they expect conditions to improve over the next three-to-six months (3% net positive) and many expecting a decrease in customer activity (28% net negative).
“After years of very strong consumer gaming spending growth, expectations around customer activity over the next three to six months have cooled considerably,” said AGA Vice President of Research David Forman. “Still, gaming businesses remain well positioned, with executives touting strong balance sheets and more viewing access to credit as easy than restrictive for the first time in two years.”
Gaming Executive Panel
Since Q1, gaming executives’ sentiment has shifted, with a greater number of respondents now expecting a decline in customer activity over the next three to six months (28% net negative, up from 4% net negative in Q1). Despite this, panelists foresee improvements in overall balance sheet health (34% net positive).
Additionally, more executives reported access to credit as easy (19%) rather than restrictive (3%) for the first time in two years, and fewer cite interest rates as a major limiting factor than in the spring.
Hotel (56%) and food and beverage facilities (56%) continue to be the main and growing focus of capital investment among operators, followed by live entertainment (28%) and casino floor slots (22%).
Meanwhile, gaming equipment suppliers now believe their pace of capital investment and game sales will decelerate (13% net negative).
These expectations are impacted by evolving macroeconomic challenges, with uncertainty of the economic environment vaulting to the top of executive concerns (56%, up from 34% in Q1), followed by state regulatory concerns (31%), and inflationary or interest rate concerns and geopolitical risk (both 34%).
The Current Conditions Index
The Current Conditions Index for Q3 2024 was 97.3, which is consistent with real annualized contraction of 2.7 percent. The Current Conditions Index measures real economic activity in the industry, as measured by gaming revenue, employment and employee wages and salaries.
The Future Conditions Index
The Future Conditions Index, a leading indicator of changes in industry conditions, measured 98.9 in Q3. This indicates an environment in which real economic activity in the gaming sector, after controlling for underlying inflation, is expected to moderately decrease over the next six months (1.1% annualized rate).
-
gaming2 years ago
ODIN by 4Players: Immersive, state-of-the-art in-game audio launches into the next generation of gaming
-
EEG iGaming Directory8 years ago
iSoftBet continues to grow with new release Forest Mania
-
News7 years ago
Softbroke collaborates with Asia Live Tech for the expansion of the service line in the igaming market
-
News6 years ago
Super Bowl LIII: NFL Fans Can Bet on the #1 Sportsbook Review Site Betting-Super-Bowl.com, Providing Free Unbiased and Trusted News, Picks and Predictions
-
iGaming Industry7 years ago
Rick Meitzler appointed to the Indian Gaming Magazine Advisory Board for 2018
-
News6 years ago
REVEALED: Top eSports players set to earn $3.2 million in 2019
-
iGaming Industry7 years ago
French Senator raises Loot Boxes to France’s Gambling Regulator
-
News6 years ago
Exclusive Interview with Miklos Handa (Founder of the email marketing solutions, “MailMike.net”), speaker at Vienna International Gaming Expo 2018