Data Analytics, Referrals, And Much More — Is This The Beginning Of A New Era In The Sports Wagering Space?

Photo by Kyle DeSantis on Unsplash

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Invite a friend and earn a $50 bonus, or refer a friend and earn a reward. 

Referral bonuses have taken every industry by storm. What used to be a strategy to encourage employees to refer qualified candidates within their circle to apply for jobs at their current workplace — the employee referral bonus — has now spilled over into other sectors.

Nowadays, almost all online betting websites (sportsbooks) offer their customers at least one referral bonus. Referral bonuses are everywhere, from big names such as DraftKings DKNG and Score Media and Gaming Inc. — owned by Penn National Gaming Inc. PENN— to new kids on the block like YoniBet and Cyber.bet, which are not available to U.S. citizens.

What Is a Referral bonus?

Also known as a refer-a-friend bonus, a referral bonus is an incentive or reward given by sportsbooks to a user for referring a friend to the sportsbook’s website. The bettor earns a bonus when they invite someone and that person completes a sign-up for the sportsbook. Referral bonuses are considered a strategy for sportsbooks to expand their user base and make a name in the multi-billion-dollar sports betting industry.

But, are referral bonuses the last word in attracting new customers to a sports-wagering firm? Champion Gaming Group Inc. WGRFF WAGR is one example of a company that believes there is more.

Moving Past The Referral Bonus To Build A User Base

Champion Gaming Group is doing things differently than other companies in the space to attain and retain sign-ups. With its engaging content and cutting-edge data analytics, the company says it wants to position itself as the sought-after website for teams, bettors, players and sports fans.

With a diversified portfolio covering multiple sports, Champion Gaming Group offers an array of solutions like data mining, advanced analytics and expert sports content to its customers, which include sportsbooks and media companies. 

EdjSports, a subsidiary of the company, offers data analytics and insights to companies in the sports-wagering industry, as well as individual consumers. EdjSports offers betting tools for sportsbooks and advanced data analytics used by teams in the National Football League (NFL) and media companies such as ESPN. EdjSports recently relaunched to include new sports and features that will enhance the user experience even further.

The company’s other brand, EdjVarsity, is a high school football software-as-a-service (SaaS) tool for predictive play-calling, with more than 70 high school coaches using it to make game decisions. 

"Our brands have a growing engaged audience — we’ve seen over 2.5 billion impressions in 2020 across channels for EdjSports and Football Outsiders,” said Ken Hershman, CEO and co-founder of Champion Gaming. “Our NFL-focused EdjSports is now expanding into new sports including the National Basketball Association (NBA), Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and golf. Football Outsiders is an advertiser-supported free service and also offers the ability to subscribe to more robust tools and content through its Football Outsiders Plus offering."

Champion Gaming reports multiple revenue streams from annual and monthly subscriptions. Apart from the recurring revenue streams, the company’s earnings come from licensing, sponsorships, advertising and revenue-sharing with sportsbook affiliates. EdjSports raised up to $1.5 million in the first six months of 2021 from licenses and subscription programs.

This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be investing advice.