There is a lot that makes up a great betting experience. With this in mind, we decided to delve further into the matter and gather data from our 100k+ monthly visitors by running a week-long survey on punters’ betting preferences.
Betting Preference Survey
We want to know what the users are after from the betting operators, and we want to know this directly from the source: you! Here, we will be updating you with the latest betting surveys we are carrying out, starting from this one.
1) What is most important to you when joining a betting operator?
62% of respondents replied with Competitive Odds, which unsurprisingly was by far the highest voted option. The response indicates that most of you naturally favour securing the highest profit from their wins, as odds are a key aspect of every bookmaker.
The Cash Out feature is another key requirement for many of punters (39.5%), who prioritise the ability to get their money back on their placed bets before the event in question is over. This feature is typically offered as part of live betting. The terms that surround cashing out, as well as its convenience, give certain bookmakers an edge over others.
We also discovered that the promotions offered are also important for many punters (26.3%), who may be enticed by an offer that allows them to sign up for a bookmaker account with less risk and better winning potential. Popular promotions including receiving cash back as a free bet if your initial bet is lost, or receiving a free bet for your first bet.
Ease-of-use, as well as deposit and payout speed proved to be important features for punters, with 31.7% and 30.2% of respondents selecting these respectively. It comes as no surprise that punters favour convenience and efficiency from their bookmakers of choice, with both features playing a major role in improving the overall betting experience. Meanwhile, live streaming proved to be a vital aspect of betting for several punters too (15.9%), albeit less important than others – the option to stream a wide selection of events in great quality makes betting all the more enjoyable! 2.8% specified another answer.
2) How many betting operators do you currently have an account with?
Data from our survey shows that punters prefer to choose one main betting operator to sign up with, with 39.4% of respondents having opened an account with 1-2 betting operators. 31.3% of respondents selected 3-5 betting operators, which continues to indicate that the majority of punters prefer to select a few bookmakers with their prioritised features.
Interestingly, 14.5% of respondents do not have an account open with a betting operator as of yet, which shows that many site visitors seek to open an account for the first time, and may be looking for valuable information prior to making their decision.
7.9% of respondents have an account open with 6-10 betting operators, while 6.9% have an account with 11 or more – indicating that a smaller number of punters enjoy making use of several bookmakers and their features.
3) What type of promotion most appeals to you?
Promotions are becoming increasingly important for the dedicated punters who bet on the daily, which is why bookmakers with highly attractive promotions manage to attract a higher number of newcomers. Our survey indicated that Welcome Offers and Loyalty Bonuses are the two most important promotions, with both ending in a tie of 37.2%. Welcome Offers could be considered the most popular type of promotions, allowing you to place first bets without deposits, or having their wins doubled, for instance. Loyalty Bonuses, on the other hand, work by rewarding punters who place constant bets with a bookmaker. Free bets offers are a common bonus, and even free tickets to major sporting competitions – different bookmakers offer different exciting bonuses!
Accumulator bonuses followed with a close 34.8%, while Enhanced Odds came next with 28.5%. Acca Insurance followed with 16.3% of respondents choosing this option, while 13.1% of respondents stated that they are not interested in promotions.
4) Do you prefer betting on desktop or mobile?
Our betting preferences survey indicated that the majority of punters (49.5%) make use of both the desktop (using the main website) and mobile to bet, while 40.2% prefer to use mobile only; only 10.4% of our respondents prefer to use just the desktop website. This goes to show how important an efficient mobile app is for punters, who will select bookmakers accordingly. Punters are increasingly choosing convenience and methods that consume less of their time, therefore choosing mobile apps that can be used at any time and at any location.
5) What type of bets do you usually place?
56% of our respondents selected Accumulators as their type of bet placed most frequently. Accumulators, otherwise known as combo bets, are particularly popular among recreational players. 50.1% selected Singles, which is the least risky option and a better option for high stakes. Doubles and Trebles proved to be the less popular options, with 33.5% and 21.6% of respondents selecting them respectively.
6) What do you prefer betting on?
The majority of punters (45.2%) prefer to bet on both pre-match and live betting, while 44.4% prefer pre-match betting. Pre-match betting consists of betting on predetermined odds before a match’s commencement. Statistics of previous matches drive odds for pre-match betting, while live betting consists of placing bets after a match has started. While this could make the experience more exciting, it also involves greater risk, as quick thinking is required and there may not be enough time to evaluate your decisions properly. This may be the reason why only 10.4% of our respondents prefer live betting.
7) Which sport do you prefer to bet on?
Football dominated the rankings here, with a whopping 91.5% of punters selecting this sport over others. This comes as no surprise when one thinks of football’s popularity, which is mainly led by the fact that it is available to be played and watched in so many countries. Horse racing followed with 26% of respondents – we believe this may partially be due to how much data is offered with this sport, allowing punters to showcase their knowledge, but also due to just how many horse racing events actually take place. With a wide selection of events to bet on, it is no surprise that punters frequently opt for this sport over others.
The following sports lagged behind in the survey, with Tennis having been chosen by 11% of respondents, Cricket betting by 7.6%, Golf by 7%, Esports betting by 5.2%, Darts by 4.5%, Greyhounds by 4.3%, Snooker by 3.8%, and Other Sports by 4.7%.
8) Apart from sports betting, what else do you play?
The betting preferences survey indicated that most punters (57.9%) prefer to simply bet on sports, while 24% also play at an online casino. Online casinos and sports betting tend to differ in the level of knowledge required, with serious sports requiring dedication and practice to help learn betting systems, rules, different types of bets to play and when to choose them… and the list goes on. On the other hand, while online casinos do offer several games requiring great skill, they also provide the option of selecting games that do not require previous experience to play well. Therefore, some punters may also enjoy visiting online casinos once in a while – perhaps for some recreational gambling.
19.6% of respondents selected Lotto as a favoured form of gambling, while 14.4% chose Slots, 9.3% chose Bingo, and 6.1% chose Poker.
9) What is your main reason for visiting ThePuntersPage and other similar pages?
Respondents mainly (64%) best Betting Tips as the key reason for visiting our website and similar pages. Naturally, these help punters improve their betting skills and learn more about sports betting, such as in our recent EFL League One Betting Guide 2020/21 Odds & Tips.
Free Bets & Betting Offers, which help new punters get accustomed to sports betting as well as benefit from promotions that will aid their betting progress, followed with 61.7% of respondents.
Best Online Bookies ranked followed with 24.2%, General & Beginners Guides with 15.2%, and Match/Tournament Previews with 14.2%. Meanwhile, 2.2% of respondents gave other reasons.
ThePuntersPage Final Say
Our focus at ThePuntersPage is to provide the user with all the information they're after, including betting tips, predictions, offers, guides and so on! However, in order for us to provide you with quality, we need you to let us know what YOU really need. These surveys will help us bridge the gap between the betting operators and the users, so help us to help you!