Euro 2024 Pulsey Awards: Germany Takes Sports Betting Player Growth, Poland Shines in Conversion
Optimove's iGaming Pulse offered unprecedented daily industry-wide benchmarks of sports betting trends throughout Euro 2024. Now, it's time to announce the best-performing countries in Conversion, Retention, Mobile Betting, and more
Optimove’s iGaming Pulse aggregates anonymous sport betting player data from over 200 operators worldwide, providing daily benchmarks and trends throughout Euro 2024. Understanding these trends and behaviors is critical for operators as they prepare for future peak events. This insight helps operators refine their strategies, enhance player engagement, and optimize marketing efforts.
Key Takeaways:
Germany achieved the highest player growth during Euro 2024, with a remarkable 400% increase over the baseline, coinciding with the team’s games.
France saw a significant rise in betting activity, with a more than 200% increase after defeating Belgium in the round of 16.
Poland excelled in conversion rates, maintaining an impressive peak of 75% during the tournament, more than double the global average.
Optimove Pulse is a unique tool that offers operators deep insights into industry-wide benchmarks and trends for sports betting. During Euro 2024, it provided daily updates on KPIs such as mobile betting, bet type, conversion, retention, reactivation, and more.
As we wrap up an exciting month of football (soccer) we’re excited to present our Pulsey awards to the countries that didn’t win it all on the field but excelled in these key categories. The charts below show the trendline of the winning country.
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Best Player Growth Award – Winner: Germany
In the chart: The orange line represents the number of Sports Bettors change, showing visible peaks on June 15-16, and 19, and July 6
While the home team fell short of winning the title, they achieved the most significant player growth. Germany saw a remarkable increase, reaching 400% over the baseline mark no less than four times mostly coinciding with the team’s games. Belgium also performed strongly in this metric, reaching a similar peak, but only managed to do so once at the start of the tournament.
In the chart: The blue line represents bet amount change showing a spike on July 1, as France faced Belgium in the Round of 16
The Tricolor entered the tournament with high hopes of claiming victory but fell to Spain in the semi-final. The French team had an impressive run, notably defeating Belgium in the round of 16, which resulted in a more than 200% increase in betting activity compared to the July 2023 baseline.
Most New Sports Betting Players Award – Winner: Germany
In the chart: Euro 2024 began with a 757% increase in new players in Germany, peaking at 871% the following week and trending down from there, while still surpassing most participating countries.
You can beat the home team on the field, but you can’t beat the excitement of their fans. Germany takes this award with a staggering 877% peak in new players (First Time Depositors, or FTDs) compared to the July 2023 baseline. The global peak for FTDs was 87%.
Mega sporting events always draw in new players, and this effect is particularly strong among home team fans. Poland finished second with an impressive 691% spike and Austria, Germany’s neighbor, third with a 591% increase.
Highest Sports Betting Conversion Rate Award – Winner: Poland
Peak sporting events offer a prime opportunity to acquire new players, and Poland, as their 2nd place in the previous award suggests, showed great form this category. Despite not advancing past the group stage, Poland achieved an impressive conversion rate, peaking at 75% as the Euro kicked off and consistently maintaining above 65%. This performance is more than double the global average for that period.
Highest Reactivation Rate Award – Winner: Portugal
In the chart: Reactivation rate in Portugal saw ups and downs, but peaked at 7.2% during the first week of the tournament
While it’s safe to say Portugal’s Ronaldo wasn’t reactivated on the field in his final Euro tournament, the same can’t be said for Portuguese bettors. Peak events offer a fantastic opportunity for operators to reignite the passion in dormant bettors, and Portugal led the way with a 7.2% reactivation rate as the tournament kicked off. This figure far surpasses the global average peak of 2.9%.
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Best Sports Betting Retention Rate – Winner: Croatia
Croatia faced a heart-breaking elimination in this Euro, but they can take some solace in having achieved the highest retention rate, peaking at 83%, compared to the global average peak of 74%. The real challenge in peak events like these begins after the final whistle, as new players tend to churn quickly once the tournament is over.
Most Live Bets – Winner: Croatia
In the chart: The orange bars represent live betting. It increased midway through the tournament peaking at 87% around the second Semi-Final.
While the Semi-finals brought about a global average of 68% live bets, Croatia peaked at 87%, and showing strong results in this category throughout the tournament.
Most Pre-Match Bets Award – Winner: Spain
In the chart: the blue bars represent Pre-match bets amount change, showing a spike on July 14, the day of the final
While the Spanish team prefers short passes, Spanish bettors prefer Pre-Match bets peaking at 62% during the final against England. The global average stood at 45%.
Most Sports Mobile Bets Award – Winner: Italy
In the chart: The blue bars represent bets placed on mobile showcasing the dominance of mobile betting in Italy
While Italy suffered an early exit at the hands of Switzerland, Italian bettor Mobile activity remained strong throughout, peaking at a whopping 92%. We’re used to seeing 80-20 split here which is just about the global average.
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.
