How does Covers notice activity change from what could be seen as down summer months sports-wise, compared to when the NFL season is approaching?
It’s night and day; the NFL trumps everything at Covers. We take our Before You Bet show, which is typically three times a week, and ramp that up to five days a week – as well as bolster our ambassador team. I think we have one of the largest internal teams in the industry, but we supplement those with ambassadors that are speaking specifically to different areas of football betting.
Operators definitely pull back spending over the summer, and then they ramp it up at this time of year so it goes from zero to 60 really,really quickly. There’s so much information out there, it can be pretty overwhelming for new bettors. We try to simplify that processfor them as much as possible and at the same time work closely with our partners to make sure we can present the best offers to our users.
Consumers still look at sportsbooks as being biased in their content and nobody will ever believe they want bettors to win. Being a neutral, third-party site, we really push the fact that we’re trying to win as well. We’re trying to beat the book too. Yes, they’re our partner, but we’re giving out our best bets and boosted SGPs (same-game parlays –see our cover feature!). While we do partner with sportsbooks on content, our editorial team has complete right of refusal. Being neutral, covering every single game, making the volume of picks that we do is what differentiates us.
Being a neutral, third-party site, we really push the fact that we’re trying to win as well. We’re trying to beat the book too
Do you Covers’ marketing strategies differ from how operators will market when the NFL season approaches?
We work together with our sports partners knowing there’s going to be this influx of new bettors that want to wager on the NFL and everyone’s trying to stand out. There are some unique promotions, whether it be FanDuel or DraftKings who partner with the NFL to include a free month of NFL RedZone and things such as that. At the same time, it makes things interesting for us because we have to break all of that down and show sports bettors where the best opportunities are for them when evaluating sportsbooks. There’s just so much activity this time of year that it makes for a really fascinating time.
Regarding FanDuel, could one of the strategies you spoke of be the operator’s new partnership with YouTube?
Absolutely. Fanatics changed the game with its model. They have that access to their licensing arm of merchandise and other sectors. I think it’s a great way for sportsbooks to differentiate themselves.
They have to do more than just the standard bonus because everyone can do that and it’s been exhausted at this point.
They want to bring down player acquisition costs as well, so it could be a lot cheaper and smarter over the long run to include something other than a bonus. These books, DraftKings and FanDuel, are spending a fortune to partner with the leagues, but anytime you’re running that type of partnership and can take advantage of different league assets, you need to do it.
This summer in particular featured the Olympics, Euros and Copa America; did Covers take advantage of those events or notice any operators using them to bridge the gap to the NFL season?
It was a really nice surprise. At first, there were a couple of us internally who wanted to cover every game of the Euros and Copa America. There was a little bit of resistance internally just because soccer has never been the strongest sport for us; but we went ahead and did it with great results.
I would say our soccer coverage was on par with our NBA playoff coverage in terms of visitors, which was a really welcome surprise. Over the summer months, we brought in a new audience because soccer betting is still new in North America. It was a great opportunity for mature soccer bettors, but also for first-time soccer bettors to gain experience with major tournaments and get familiar with the players as well. We also worked with Betano in Canada, which was the official sportsbook partner of the Euros and Copa America, and created an operator integration there. We covered the player props throughout both tournaments, too.
A lot of this was testing to see if we can level it up even more come the World Cup in 2026, knowing that it’s going to be in North America. Like I said, it was almost like an extended NBA playoffs, so it was very welcome along with the new audience. Some of the operators such as bet365 did a really great job with boosts. You could tell their traders really understood the game. The response I’ve heard from operators is that they weren’t sure what to expect, but in terms of overall handle it was a really nice surprise for the summer.
I think Circa in Las Vegas is probably the best at it (retail marketing). They’re constantly running events, integrating that with Stadium Swim, doing different things
Do you feel added responsibility when something like the NFL season comes around?
Yes, we have to cover every single game and we know we have to continue to enhance our internal programming. We have a new betslip tool that’s dropping now, where players can build their parlays as they’re doing their research and click out once they see which operator offers the best price. Presenting that information to help sports bettors make informed choices and constantly updating our content to reflect the changing markets.
I’ve heard it out of the NFL’s mouth that their goal is to turn fantasy players into sports bettors. How’s that going to happen? It’s not going to be by betting the second half under in the Bills-Chiefs game, it’s going to be introducing player props for guys like [Patrick] Mahomes and [Travis] Kelce. Those stars will be the ones that pull those fantasy players so they can bet alongside their favourite athletes, while also participating in fantasy leagues at the same time.
Do you see a way in which player props can be combined with a lineups feature? Such as a soccer formation or baseball lineup.
You’re starting to see more of it. The integration is only getting better and better. DraftKings has a really strong player prop integration, FanDuel also. Those operators that have the licensing deals with the NFL, I believe that’s the future of this space.
Old-school sports bettors might shake their heads but people want to bet on props, they want to bet on SGPs. They’re not necessarily as price sensitive as sports bettors in the past, so it definitely seems as if that is where things are going. It’s not even where it’s going, it’s already there and there’ll be more of that going forward. The products being offered just have to catch up a little bit; some sportsbooks are there while others are still trying to make up ground.
How does Covers market to people who stick to retail sports betting? Is there a way for you guys to reach that audience?
In the past, we did a lot of ground activation in Las Vegas, Atlantic City and other markets that have changed in the space. It used to be that the sportsbook was in the corner of the hotel and if you had a third-party partner that wanted to bring more attention to your sportsbook, you welcomed it.
I would say over the last few years sports betting has become more popular in terms of the marketing departments of casinos to the point where they run their own events. I think Circa in Las Vegas is probably the best at it. They’re constantly running events, integrating that with Stadium Swim, doing different things.
For us, it’s something we definitely want to do more of. We’ve started to do some partnerships with operators in Canada, which is our home market. Those types of events have been primarily online over the past three years or so, but we recognise that in an ever-changing market, we need to get more boots on the ground. So it’s definitely part of our marketing strategy going forward
I would say our soccer coverage was on par with our NBA playoff coverage in terms of visitors, which was a really welcome surprise
Are there any contests or promotions Covers will be offering for the NFL season or possibly NBA and NHL coming up in the fall?
Absolutely, we’re going to have a $10,000 survivor NFL contest. We have a Beat the Experts weekly contest where our personalities go up against our users. We’ll definitely run unique programmes for the NBA and the NHL, as well as free-to-play daily contests. We also have a great partner in Chalkline that we work with. Overall, that means a wide variety of offerings that can be used by either a more seasoned Covers user, or someone who is new to our site as well.
