FIFA’s Club World Cup misses the mark for sports bookies

As the world's most popular sport, football is always a hot topic. People all over the world follow its tournaments and matches.

However, despite the sport's appeal and the drama that comes with it, the tournament often flies under the radar for sports betting brands. The lack of attention is a significant missed opportunity, especially now, when betting operators are constantly seeking fresh content to keep players engaged.

Where are the bookies?

The new format of the FIFA Club World Cup makes it highly attractive. Unlike the league competitions or the season-long tournaments, it delivers a compact series of high-stakes “knockout” matches. No one could predict a 100% success for the event, as it was the first time the tournament ran in the new format, and experts were missing actual data to compare.

However, the potential was there with only a few small things that could affect how the tournament actually performs with viewers and traffic. This new format naturally speaks to intense betting markets.

It offers multiple betting options, including guessing outright winners and match outcomes, to making more obscure or strange bets, e.g., goalscorers, corners, and handicaps. However, many sportsbooks failed to capitalise on this and chose to focus instead on other events.

Instead, they should fully unlock the potential of the FIFA Club World Cup, and they should expand beyond the basic betting strategy of win, draw and lose. The betting market should offer creative, situational markets as it boosts engagement. Some of these could include:

• First goal scorer
• Correct half-time score
• Player-specific props, such as tackles and the number of passes

These niche-specific betting markets create multiple touchpoints for casual and seasonal bettors. They also encourage micro-betting behaviour, especially when it allows for a seamless play experience on mobile devices.

Not all bets are created equal, and the betting strategy of the FIFA Club World Cup means targeting markets with the most value. Traditionally, 1x2 markets are useful, but keep an eye on Over/Under totals. Because of the tournament’s unpredictable nature and varying team strength, goal lines are often mispriced by bookmakers.

Bad timing, big losses

One major reason for the underutilisation of the betting market is the timing of the FIFA Club World Cup. The tournament took place at a time when it was crowded with other sporting events. One may think this season is less busy sportswise, but actually, this year there were a lot of summer sports to watch during the break.

FIFA teams up with Betano and Sportradar

The online betting firm Betano was a regional sponsor for this year's FIFA Club World Cup, a sign of a continuous partnership as Betano was also a supporter of the Qatar 2022 World Cup. The co-founder and CEO of Kaizen Gaming, George Daskalakis, commented:

“After being the first sports betting operator to support the FIFA World Cup, we are proud that Betano is joining forces with FIFA once again. It is a privilege to work closely with FIFA for a tournament that brings together millions of fans from all around the world.”

The addition of a betting sponsor confirms FIFA’s ongoing push to commercialise the tournament and mirrors other recent moves such as outsourcing the FIFA+ platform to DAZN. The partnership with DAZN includes securing exclusive rights to distribute ultra-low latency betting data, as well as non-exclusive media content.

Through this agreement, Sportradar will deliver data and content, including live odds, across all tournament matches from DAZN to its global network of more than 800 betting operator clients and 900 media companies. Sportradar had access to tracking data from the FIFA Club World Cup to offer an extensive range of micro and player markets.

They also safeguarded the tournament from corruption under the longstanding bet monitoring agreement with FIFA through its advanced AI-driven Universal Fraud Detection System, offering real-time betting market surveillance.

Midnite’s bold move and the future of FCWC betting

In terms of marketing, Midnite sponsored a free-to-air broadcaster 5’s UK coverage of the FIFA Club World Cup. Hosted in the USA, 5 is airing 23 of the 63 matches, which will now each feature the bookmaker’s branding during live coverage as well as on the daily magazine show.

Betting that depends on digital marketing, e.g., influencer partnerships or gamification, can now better capture demographics and stimulate interest in those markets. As such, the industry needs to recognise shifting preferences, especially those of the younger audience, as they mainly consume (sports) content on social media or platforms.

The tournament's global reach opens doors to other betting markets. Football's popularity surged in Asia, Africa, and America, where local clubs often play against international giants. Thus, sportsbooks can use that to expand by presenting local betting products and tailored strategies.

Betting platforms often roll out special promotional offers and bonuses during major sports events, including free bets, enhanced odds and deposit bonuses.

FIFA Club World Cup is an event that brings fans from all over the world together. Brands that support the tournament gain recognition in many new markets across different continents. That's why it is important for operators to build emotional investment and claim the narrative.

Storytelling or narratives

Narratives go beyond storytelling. They are the ones that influence player engagement and drive the dynamics of gameplay. What are the benefits of incorporating narratives in sports betting?

The FIFA Club World Cup offers everything betting brands need: global reach, elite clubs, knockout drama, and growing fan engagement. Yet, without some tailored campaigns and digital innovation, the industry continues to treat it as a secondary event. Quite surprising, as football is the top sport to follow and bet on, but not all opportunities can end up working out after all.