Live betting buzz
In a week filled with interesting moves by big brands in the battle for US sports betting market share comes news that PointsBet’s strategic focus on live betting has paid instant dividends.
successful roll-out of its new in-app NFL Lightning Bets feature
PointsBet announced Wednesday that the successful roll-out of its new in-app NFL Lightning Bets feature was the most popular live market in Week 5 of Sunday Night Football.
The official communications arm of the Australia-based iGaming giant took to Twitter to share the results of the new homepage feature:
The 185% spike in unique users of NFL Lightning Bets will be music to the ears of PointsBet’s product development and marketing departments.
The company’s executives and shareholders are, however, likely to gain greater satisfaction from the fact PointsBet’s fledging live NFL betting market posted the third highest handle in Week 5 of Sunday Night Football.
Instant hit
That NFL Lightning Bets has got bettors’ attention right off the buzzer validates the live betting gospel PointsBet has been preaching at corporate level for some time now.
According to its news release on Wednesday, PointsBet’s focus on live betting is “a key objective […] in its mission to disrupt the sports betting status quo in the North American market.”
CEO of PointsBet USA Johnny Aitken said in the release that his firm has raised its investment into live betting, no doubt aided by the AU$94m (US$59m) cash injection in June from US trading giant Susquehanna International Group precisely because of the attractiveness of PointsBet’s in-game betting capabilities.
“Live, in-game betting is not only the future of the American sports market, but it’s what the sports bettor wants right now,” Aitken said.
Future is live
PointsBet stated on Wednesday that additional markets are imminent for MLB, and “soccer, ahead of the World Cup,” which starts November.
Bettors can currently place Lightning Bets on NBA and NCAA basketball games, with the in-game feature becoming the second most popular market in the 2022 NBA Playoffs for bettors placing wagers averaging over $100.
With the success of its NFL Lightning Bets debut, PointsBet’s live, in-game betting roster is going from strength to strength. As Aitken summed up: “Lightning Bets are a continued development in our strategy to own the future of sports betting.”