And The “Pulsey” Goes To…: Mid-World Cup Pulse Awards
Can you believe we're already more than halfway through this tournament? Filled with goals and upsets, the tournament has kept us all on our toes. As we head into the Quarter Finals, we offer a different kind of awards, focused on betting behavior and patterns. The “Pulseys”, if you will. Which nation bets the highest amounts? Which leads in retention and new players? Which prefers Live Betting? Let the ceremony begin!
Has it really been just a couple of weeks? This World Cup so far, has offered so many upsets, goals, and unexpected storylines our head is spinning. But we’re not here to grade the quality of football, headers, and teamwork; others do that much better than us. We’re here to give you a snapshot of the most exciting data we recorded using our unique World Cup Pulse tool. This tool provides operators with unprecedented industry benchmarks and insights during the tournament. A tool like no other deserves a special report.
Let’s review this World Cup from a fresh perspective, not of goals and scores, but of bettor behavior and patterns by country. Which nation is leading in new bettors? Which recorded the highest bet amount? Which is absolutely in love with Live Betting? Here we go.
Where do we stand right now?
If you’re an avid reader of this blog, you may know that mega-events attract a wave of new bettors or casual players. These guys (and gals) join in the action only when a mega event takes place; they place smaller bets. This causes the average bet amount to drop, but understandably, it registers a spike in the total bet amount.
The chart below shows the total number of bettors beginning to rise around November 15. It plateaus around November 22 at just under 150% of the June 2022 benchmark (when no major event occurred). That means the number of bettors has more than doubled due to this tournament.
The High Roller Award
When the French go in, they go all in. As their team performed well up to this point, breezing through to the Quarter Final, our World Cup Pulse detecteda spike in Total Bet Amount. How high is it? Oh, just about 6 times higher than June 2022.
The Low Roller Award
Goes to Bulgaria. While the Number of Bettors is at 200% compared to the baseline, the Total Bet Amount is at the same level as in June 2022. Meaning? A massive wave of bettors placing minimal sums.
The Most Bettors Award
While Germany was still in the picture, their Total Number of Bettors peaked on December 1st at around +300% from the June 2022 baseline. Alas, it’s an Auf Wiedersehen to the German team.
The Most Alive with Live Betting Award
While the global Live Betting average is just around 50%, in Romania, it peaked at 89%. Why are the Romanians so into Live Betting compared to other nations? Your guess is as good as ours.
The Most Mobile Bets Award
We’re used to seeing a 15-85 split between bets on desktop and mobile, but that doesn’t impress Turkey. Their last update shows a 7-93 break, which is pretty consistent with their betting pattern throughout the tournament.
The Most Web Bets Award
And the flip side, Poland is showing a 39-61 split. A completely different ballgame.
The Newbies Award (Conversion)
A huge wave of new players in Ireland peaked at 419% compared to June 2022, the highest percentage of change globally. The global Number of First Time Depositors peaked at 143%.
The Welcome Back Award (Reactivation)
Reactivated Players are bettors who did not place a bet for at least a week and then went active. Brazil takes this one, with a splendid 252% peak. Global reactivation peaked at 103%.
The Stay a While Award (Retention)
Once again, it’s Brazil leading all nations peaking currently at 139%. Global retention peaked at 67%.
They’re playing us off
The action on the pitch has been fascinating indeed, but as you can see, plenty of exciting trends are happening behind the scenes. We’ll continue to follow the main trends and patterns and report them daily on our social channels, but don’t wait for us and visit the World Cup Pulse for more daily insights. See you next time, when we’ll have a new champion, and sum up the tournament.
Guy Leshno, a seasoned PR and Communications professional, with a successful track record in leading PR strategies and projects in emerging startups. With over a decade of experience, his expertise lies in blending creative ideation, analytics, and expert writing capabilities, driving brand awareness, and improving sales.
Roni is a Marketing Research Analyst serving on Optimove's Professional Services team. As the Marketing Research Analyst, Roni specializes in gathering actionable marketing insights through research and analysis of customer data for retail and gaming clients. Roni holds a dual degree in Psychology and Business from Reichman University (IDC Herzliya).
