How March Madness Led to Rivalry Between Sports Betting Companies

March Madness, officially known as the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament, is one of the most anticipated sporting events on the US sporting calendar. The single-elimination knockout tournament is full of edge-of-your-state basketball action from the first game to the last. It’s also an event that is a big draw for sports betting fans as there are so many games in a short space of time. US states with legal sports betting can be found here; from which many of the sportsbooks available cover March Madness, which just goes to show how popular the event is.

However, while this event is always popular among fans, especially those that like to wager on the results, March Madness has also been a sporting event that online sports betting companies adore. Why? Any sporting event means money, but when you consider ‌it is estimated that 45 million Americans will wager around $3 billion in this year’s tournament, you can see why sports betting firms would want a slice of that pie. 

The Fight for Customer Acquisition

The amount of money estimated to be wagered during March Madness was always bound to stir up the rivalry between the sports betting companies, but in fact, that rivalry is about more than this event and the money it could bring in. Right now, the platforms are more interested in acquiring customers. Sports betting is still new in many states, and at this point, online betting platforms are not really concerned with pulling in the money. Instead, they are fighting to acquire customers to the point where they operate at a loss.

A customer that signs up for a platform is likely to stick around and continue using the platform in the long term. March Madness, which was canceled the previous year due to COVID, is the perfect opportunity for sports betting sites to attract new members. The sites are happy to lose money now if it means they pick up a good percentage of their target audience in sign-ups. 

Most Sportsbooks Unlikely to Make a Profit Until 2023

As the sports betting sites continue to slug it out during the customer acquisition stage, the winners right now are the players. There are so many fantastic bonuses and promotions floating around that give players unbelievable value. The platforms believe ‌these members will stick around for many years, so they overspend to get them on the books. 

The sports betting platforms are fighting tooth and nail to develop the best promotions to get more registrations than their competitors. For example, the Caesars Sportsbook in Iowa offered bettors a $250 Uber Eats gift card for placing a $50 bet. That gift card was awarded no matter the result of the bet! The platform was literally handing out money in return for signing up and placing a bet. That is just one example of many promotions that show these platforms’ desperation to pick up members.

The platforms are playing the long game, with many analysts suggesting most will not start to turn a profit for at least a year. The idea is to pick up as many customers now at the expense and then begin to see a return on that investment over the next year or two. 

Great News for Sports Betting Fans

If you enjoy sports betting and live in a US state where you’re legally allowed to place wagers, there is no better time to start signing up for an online sportsbook. These platforms are fighting tooth and nail to get you on their books and will give you huge incentives via their bonuses and promotions. 

The best part is that you do not have to stick with just one sports betting site. You could sign up for all of them and take advantage of multiple bonuses. Once you’re done betting on your March Madness match predictions using your preferred promotions, simply move to the next platform and grab more bonus deals..

Right now, promotions are rife because these sports betting sites are looking to boost their memberships over the next couple of years, and many of them are running at a loss to promote in doing so. However, no business can continue operating at a loss indefinitely. As a result, the current crop of attractive bonus deals will likely scale down once they achieve their target membership goals. Therefore, as the old saying goes, now is the time!