What Should Bettors Look for in Casino Sites?
It’s never been easier to explore the world of sports betting. Thanks to mobile technology, punters are able to access lines and place their bets straight from the palm of their hand. While some still prefer the retail sportsbook experience, the vast majority of bettors today stick to virtual formats for convenience and reliability.
But any punters who’s spent some time shopping around for lines at different sportsbooks has probably noticed there’s quite a bit of overlap with gaming brands. So, what do an online casino and a sportsbook have in common? While they’re both about bridging entertainment, skill and the unknown, slots and Aintree don’t have too much in common.
However, the intersections between online casinos and sportsbooks is vast. In fact, most sportsbooks today include a casino branch, while most casinos have also launched a sportsbook. Let’s dive into the world of sportsbook-casino crossovers and what you need to know.
A Trusted Brand
Casinos and sportsbooks often end up clumped together because of regulatory considerations. Licensing for both is similar, which means brands that attain licensing for sports betting often opt to obtain casino licenses too. In some places, like the US’s Pennsylvania, it is actually a requirement to launch a sportsbook by partnering with an existing casino.
For bettors, this trend has panned out beautifully. That’s because it’s simply easier to switch from a casino to a sportsbook when you’re registered with the same company. Deposits and withdrawals are handled the same, while the platform itself is easier to figure out because it’s duplicated on the casino or sportsbook branch.
Similarly, many bettors prefer to stick to one casino-sportsbook brand because of rewards programs. Oftentimes, there are cross-promotions that loyal users can take advantage of, including free spins or deposit matches.
Playing the Field
Just because it’s convenient to stick with the same brand doesn’t mean it’s always advantageous, however. Rewards and loyalty programs seek to entice customers into coming back… but they can rarely compete with a highly attractive welcome bonus. As implied by the title, a welcome bonus is a one-time offer available for signing up with a new company.
It’s not uncommon for bettors to ‘play the field’ when it comes to these offers. In fact, some forms of sports betting cater to it, including arbitrage betting. This means bettors will use welcome offers and other free bet deals to cover all possible outcomes of a bet, ensuring a (small) win.
If you’re a sports bettor who likes to play the field and register with new companies to sample their welcome offers, then you’ll be happy to hear that online casinos work in almost the same way. Bonus offers are designed to attract newcomers, which means they’re highly competitive and offer value.
Branded Gaming
So far, we’ve covered how casinos and sportsbooks overlap. For the most part, this offers plenty of new ways for bettors to take advantage of gaming deals. But one of the coolest and most meaningful ways that these industries can interact is with branded gaming. This is when casinos and sportsbooks sign contracts with local professional teams to use their image and likeness.
Let’s jump back to the US’s Pennsylvania again. Because legislators required sportsbooks to partner with existing casino brands (to help launch online betting markets), companies were getting creative in how they launched their brand with locals. One way to attract sports fans to their casino was to brand games like blackjack and poker with official pro team logos.
This provided Pennsylvania residents with a highly personalized online casino experience, thanks to the sportsbook’s partnership with local pro sports teams. Bettors who wouldn’t have tried their hand at blackjack, for example, might have done so just for the experience of a fully branded game.
While these sorts of experiences aren’t available across the board, they’re something to keep a lookout for. This is especially true if you’re a sports bettor who wants to sample virtual casino gaming—or vice versa.
