Research Shows Brand Awareness Online Betting

Research Shows Brand Awareness of Sports Betting Apps Still Low

By Blake Roberts Founder & Editor in Chief Updated: 07 October 2020

Blake Roberts Founder & Editor in Chief

Blake Roberts is the founder of Betting.US and is currently heading the creative team as Editor in Chief. Born and raised in Morgantown, West Virginia, Blake is a great sports fan, with football and basketball being his favorite. He’s our trusted voice for all betting-related matters.

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Recent research by a software and market research company has revealed that brand awareness about sports betting apps remains surprisingly low. This is despite advertising and marketing campaigns by sportsbook operators and offers of rewards and promotions to those who sign up for the apps.

While gaming companies have to be mindful when it comes to how they advertise in order to ensure responsible marketing, figures suggest that many are unaware of sports betting app brands. The research was carried out by Civic Science and showed that some of the biggest sports betting operators were affected, even though they run national advertising campaigns.

Being Careful About Advertising

Sportsbook operators are aware that they have to be careful when it comes to advertising their sports betting services, as they cannot encourage problem gambling. This is part of the Responsible Marketing Code for Sports Wagering, which is enforced by the Code Compliance Review Board at the American Gaming Association. An official from the AGA recently said:

Learning lessons from the UK and other European countries…where there are crackdowns in advertising, or even the US with daily fantasy a few years ago, it’s important that the gaming industry have the opportunity to self-regulate and set a standard by which we market and advertise to our customers.

In order to adhere to this code, sportsbook operators in the United States carefully develop their marketing strategies. However, it appears that while they spend a fortune on promoting their sports betting apps, it is not doing a lot to raise awareness of their brand in the states studied.

According to the research from Civic Science, some of the brands with low awareness when it comes to sports betting apps include FanDuel, DraftKings, and the Barstool sports betting app from Penn National Gaming. All of these were found to have low usage, as well as limited awareness.

The survey was carried out among residents living in the states where the apps were operating. Both FanDuel and DraftKings fared better than most, with 6% of those polled saying that they had already used the apps or intended to do so.

Brand awareness was considerably lower with the BetRivers app, with just 3% stating that they had used the app or were planning to do so. Awareness of FOX Bet was lower still, with only 2% saying they would use or have used the sports betting app.

However, the Barstool app from Penn National Gaming fared particularly badly. Awareness was lowest with this brand, with only 1% of those responding saying that they have used or would use the app. In Pennsylvania, 64% of respondents had no idea that the Barstool sports betting app existed.

Huge Sums Spent on Advertising

The results of the study may come as a surprise to many given the huge amounts of money sportsbook operators invest in national advertising campaigns. What’s more, they also throw more money at their marketing by offering a variety of promotions to entice sports fans and encourage them to sign up.