Published
Sports BettingIndustry

XLMedia's Jason Ziernicki: "It's a gamble" with this year's Olympics

With the Olympics underway, Jason Ziernicki, Head of Audience, US Sports at XLMedia, has spoken about his views on the low impact the Games has with sports bettors.

ollllllllll

Traditionally, Olympic sports betting has failed to generate much interest in the past; Ziernicki suspects “it’s a gamble” to consider the Summer Tokyo Olympics will take sportsbooks by storm this year. 

“There's a hope that it will,” he exclusively tells Gambling Insider.

“I believe this is the first Olympic Games that we have had in the States with regulated sports betting. There is no previous comparison or baseline to work off. I think the storyline so far with the Tokyo Olympics brings a lot of concern, and when there is concern, most bettors will be hesitant.”

A recent report from the American Gaming Association stated that 20 million Americans are set to bet on this year's Olympic Games, and the interest in sports betting has in fact increased by 54%; however Ziernicki believes it still won’t be that promising a means to wagering.

“The Olympics do bring a lot of attractive promos to gaming - if someone wins a gold medal, they can give away free bets, or arrange typical promos which work for sure. But in general, I would be surprised if the sportsbooks are truly expecting big handle from the Olympics. I think they are probably pretty low in terms of expectations,” he explained.

“I think storylines are what tends to drive volume. If I was looking for something that could drive volume, it would be along the lines of seeing value.” 

You can read the full interview with Ziernicki in September's issue of Trafficology.

Premium+ Connections
Premium

Sport Generate

 
Premium

RISK

 
Premium

Lynon

 
Premium

Galaxsys

 
Premium

1xBet Partners

 
Premium

Revsharks

 
 
Premium

Digitain

 
Premium

PIN-UP Partners

 
Premium

Imagine Live

 
Premium

GammaStack

 
Premium Connections
Consultancy

SCCG Management

Executive Profiles
Zeal Network SE

Stefan Tweraser

VIP Play

Les Ottolenghi

Scientific Games

Keshav Pitani

Social & App

Spribe CEO exclusive: Simplicity is the foundation

Spribe CEO David Natroshvili speaks to Gambling Insider abou...

Redefining iGaming: A history of crash games

Crash games is a growing vertical that has taken gambling by...

A certain something: What makes crash games special?

Crash games. They’re simple, they’re easy to learn and,...

Smarter innovation to shape the future

Spribe CCO Giorgi Tsutskiridze discusses the past, present a...

Facing Facts: The corner of quarterly contemplation

With Q1 reports out across the industry, Gambling Insider co...

Taking Stock: A guide to key stock prices across the industry

Gambling Insider tracks prices from some of the industry’s...

15 years of Gambling Insider: From the Founders

Over the last 15 years, Gambling Insider magazine has interv...

15 years of Gambling Insider: The Awards over time

Global Gaming Awards Event Manager Mariya Savova gives us he...