Conversion corner: Counting the costs of sports betting profitability EGR North America

You need to understand if your conversion rates from click to depositing players match the expected results from given traffic sources. This is generally a first indication to campaign success, and also will help you identify changes you must make to conversion funnels for specific traffic types. It will also allow you to make sure your traffic sources are running campaigns efficiently and not wasting spend.

Sports betting leads with 48.56% of 2024 revenue, while casino gaming is the fastest-growing category at 13.66% CAGR through 2030. Use this data to inform optimization decisions, and watch your ROI increase incrementally over a short period of time while you pause inefficient spend and scale quality traffic. Without a detailed understanding of how people find your product, what they do there, and how that affects your top and bottom-line performance, you are simply missing out on untapped potential. Based on all the above, you must now make important decisions on what campaigns to pause, maintain, adjust, or scale. It is great to have a proper setup for compiling and reviewing campaign results, but now you need to use all this data to make crucial decisions.

White-Label vs. Custom Casino Solutions

A white-label casino solution is a pre-built platform provided by a third-party company. It enables entrepreneurs to launch an online casino under their own brand without developing the software or acquiring a gambling license. The provider handles the technical infrastructure, game integration, payment processing, and compliance requirements.

Game Diversity

Every month, your gambling business will incur fixed and variable expenses that must be covered to stay afloat. Hiring a cybersecurity firm or building an in-house security team could cost anywhere from $25,000 to $100,000 annually. But this investment could be the difference between long-term success and catastrophic failure.

Many operations are seeing unsustainable Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) due to a lack of responsible, mathematically based acquisition strategies. This approach often leads to low-quality traffic and uncontrollable marketing expenditures. Without a solid baseline for these metrics, new entrants make misguided assumptions about the profitability and management of iGaming platforms. In this article, we’re going deep into the trenches of budgeting for your gambling business’s first year. We’ll look at everything—from getting legal licenses to building a user-friendly platform, staffing your team, and making sure your customers keep coming back for more. This organic advocacy not only lowers CAC by reducing the need for costly marketing efforts but also fosters a strong sense of loyalty among customers.

Moreover, by assessing CPA alongside retention metrics like Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), operators can fine-tune sustainable growth and maximise return on investment. Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) measures the average revenue generated by each user over a specified period. ARPU provides valuable insights into user spending habits and overall profitability. An understanding of ARPU helps sports betting operators identify high-value customers, optimise engagement initiatives and tailor marketing strategies. The surge in digital adoption has fueled explosive growth in both Fintech and iGaming. Fintech companies, offering everything from mobile banking and investment platforms to payment solutions and cryptocurrency exchanges, are vying for a share of the burgeoning digital financial services market.

“Then, the product’s algorithms have the task of retaining the user by offering them other events and markets that might be of interest to them, thus channeling them into the retention journey. “At GG.BET, we carry out funnel analysis from the customer’s very first click on a banner to the moment they make their first deposit. By keeping track of patterns in each bettor’s behavior on the platform, we can already predict at this stage when we’ll make back our investment in a given user. Diving into the world of Average Customer Acquisition Cost and how to trim it down across various industries has been quite the adventure. We’ve taken a close look at how these costs stack up from one sector to another and sifted through a bundle of strategies to bring them down to size.

• Also, you’ll need to invest in compliance software, especially for identity verification, payment tracking, and responsible gaming measures.
• Targeting such high-intent users with personalized offers can help boost user acquisition.
• Expect setup fees, transaction fees, and possible holding periods (especially for high-risk industries like gambling).
• But this investment could be the difference between long-term success and catastrophic failure.
• Moreover, users are typically provided with the flexibility to drill down into specific metrics to enhance decision-making processes, leading to improved operational efficiency and profitability.

You should make your marketing strategy by investing more resources in optimizing these successful channels’ performances. Predictive analytics powered by machine learning can forecast user behaviour and betting trends, facilitating proactive adjustments to strategy. Altogether, such efficiencies lead to better resource allocation, improved user satisfaction, and maximised revenue, providing operators with a greater competitive advantage. Furthermore, knowledge of ARPU trends provides the information needed to optimise pricing, enhance user engagement, and boost customer retention efforts. One vital way he believes operators could create a new revenue stream is through affiliate marketing – tapping into the capabilities of other platforms to drive revenue to their own offerings. The power of understanding a player’s preferences and the journey they are likely to take is pivotal in displaying GG.BET’s ability to boost engagement and lower acquisition costs, mitigating the need for any guess work.

The B2C landscape is diverse, with customer acquisition costs reflecting the unique challenges and strategies across various industries. By leveraging data analytics, businesses can gain a deeper understanding of their target audience, identify the most effective marketing channels, and personalize their messaging. Shadow campaigns are a powerful tool that allow advertisers to take appropriate actions to protect their brand, optimise their marketing efforts, and ensure compliance with marketing strategies.

Build an User-friendly Website

Its user acquisition analytics can help analyze user interactions and predict users that are more likely to convert. From awareness and moving through interest, consideration, conversion, to retention. That is to say, operators lower CAC for their brands after they have done all they can with mass marketing and believe they won’t bring in enough new customers to justify continued spending at the same levels. They also have leonbet official website loyalty programs with sizable memberships to whom they can market their new gambling apps. For instance, operators like BetMGM – half-owned by MGM Resorts International – can attract new customers primarily with omnichannel, data-driven campaigns.

Gambling.com Group’s brand value estimated at $275 million in 2023, with 67% market recognition in key operating regions. But if you stay focused, move strategically, and adapt quickly, you can build not just a profitable venture—but a brand players trust and return to. Your platform must support secure, fast, and diverse payment methods—from credit cards to e-wallets, bank transfers, and even crypto. Expect setup fees, transaction fees, and possible holding periods (especially for high-risk industries like gambling). Your backend is where the magic happens—it’s the part of your system that manages users, handles bets, calculates odds, processes payments, and more.

Since 2018, when states could legally allow online sports betting, 41% of FanDuel’s sportsbook customers came from its DFS player roster. In the relatively new US iGaming and sports betting spaces, the companies with the privilege of spending less on customer acquisition efforts are those with an established retail casino presence. The reason for the timing is customer acquisition costs generally start out high, as they did in 2018.

Without strong promotion, even the most polished platform will sit in the shadows. This is a fiercely competitive industry, so getting noticed requires smart spending and constant hustle. The average customer acquisition cost for B2B companies is a combination of both organic and paid acquisition costs. Dashboard and analytics tools are indispensable for sports betting operators aiming to boost revenue. These integrated platforms allow for real-time monitoring of multiple KPIs such as Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR), Net Gaming Revenue (NGR), and Average Revenue Per User (ARPU).

Similarly, iGaming operators, encompassing online casinos, sports betting platforms, and fantasy sports, are capitalizing on the increasing acceptance of online entertainment. This intense competition, however, comes at a price – escalating user acquisition costs. The rise of social-casino formats and themed slot games is helping to diversify the user base, extending engagement beyond the traditional male-dominated sports betting audience. Cross-promotion between bingo, lottery, and casual casino titles is also proving effective, driving higher session frequency among female players. The United States online gambling market currently generates USD 5.97 billion in 2025 and is forecast to climb to USD 12.81 billion by 2030, reflecting a 16.50% CAGR.

For small to medium enterprises (SMEs), the challenge often lies in optimizing marketing expenses and sales expenses to improve customer acquisition costs. In conclusion, user acquisition costs in Fintech and iGaming are influenced by a complex interplay of factors, including competition, regulation, technology, and consumer behavior. By implementing effective strategies, leveraging technology, and adapting to regulatory changes, businesses can optimize their CAC and achieve sustainable growth in these dynamic sectors.

Offering incentives or rewards to customers who refer new users helps you tap into your existing customer base as a valuable source of new leads. Referrals from satisfied customers also carry higher trust and credibility to ensure a better conversion rate. You can personalize experiences during the onboarding process to meet potential customers’ preferences and needs.

Technology infrastructure investment for online gambling platforms averages $3.5 million annually. As of Q4 2023, Gambling.com Group Limited faces significant competitive pressure in the online gambling affiliate market. The company operates in a market with approximately 287 active online gambling affiliate platforms globally.

This involves building a strong brand presence, creating valuable content, and engaging with potential customers through social media and other online channels. Organic acquisition, while requiring a long-term commitment, can be more cost-effective than paid advertising in the long run. The United States online gambling market is highly consolidated, with Flutter and DraftKings together commanding a major share of the sports betting segment, effectively forming a dominant two-player structure. In contrast, the iGaming sector is characterized by a wider distribution of market share, with companies like BetMGM, Caesars, Penn Entertainment, and Everi each holding smaller, single-digit portions. In this competitive landscape, success hinges on data-driven personalization, exclusive gaming content, and integrated loyalty programs that span digital and physical touchpoints.

This may involve investing in compliance tools and services, as well as adjusting their advertising practices. In the fast-paced, highly competitive world of sports betting, operators have to ensure they’re maximising Return-On-Investment (ROI) in their digital marketing campaigns. The challenge is to target new customers and not waste budget on returning users that they’ve already engaged. Worrying about customer acquisition costs is a luxury that only established brands can typically afford. Newer brands or those entering a market for the first time often require costly brand awareness marketing campaigns, often in the form of TV commercials. Choosing between a white-label and a custom casino solution is one of the most critical decisions you’ll make when launching your online casino business.