Why F2P Predictors Dominate New User Acquisition

When considered within the broader context of sports betting, F2P Predictors are viewed as the future, especially for customer acquisition.

Part of the ploy behind them is to attract new users and get them thinking about sports betting without immediately forcing them to part with their money. Indeed, F2P Predictors have been introduced in a non-threatening way, helping to reduce potential stigmas associated with them.

But why are F2P Predictors gaining traction with new UK customers? We have explored some of the underlying reasons behind their successes and explained why they are cherished by betting sites.

A powerful commercial tool

F2P predictors are supposed to make things more frictionless for novice users, especially those who are reserved about placing a deposit at a sportsbook. Rather than jumping straight in at the deep end, users who are inherently more risk-averse may be more willing to dip their toes and predict a football score or weekend accumulator-style result if they don’t need to make a stake.

From a commercial perspective, offering F2P predictors can help football betting platforms, for example, gain useful insights into customer attitudes and behaviours. In collating a wide range of data, sportsbooks can convert more casual players into bettors and tailor products to their preferences. Essentially, the first betting interaction for a new user should be framed as a game rather than purely a financial transaction.

Allure of prizes and jackpots

F2P predictors are smart as they sit on the intersection between fantasy-style engagement and social competition. With the latter, F2P predictors can heighten competition levels between players, creating more of a community vibe.

There is also an innate psychological element of F2P predictors. The overriding success of Sky Bet’s ‘Super 6’, where players can win up to £250,000 for guessing six correct scores on a given weekend round of games, have proved their worth, resonating with users.

Rather than trying to lure in new users with the promise of appetising welcome bonuses, such as free bets, sites such as Sky Bet have pivoted and adjust their strategy at times to create deeper levels of connection and convert free players into real money gamblers. Indeed, betting sites are now making more of a concerted effort to cut out the technical jargon and give players a soft introduction to sports betting.

External factors at play

Although F2P predictors are supposed to be free, this doesn’t automatically dispel the idea of them being risk-free from a consumer protection standpoint. Indeed, in an academic article published by the Journal of Health, research suggested that predictor games could expose younger males to a greater “range of harms”, especially those with a history of problem gambling ^[1].

However, the same article also suggested that the prevalence of non-problem gambling in the sample of those playing F2P predictors was 40.9%, while low-risk gambling was 31.9%. In a world where the industry is saturated with options, users must weigh up a variety of financial and emotional factors before taking the next steps in their betting journey.