Emerging sports are growing in popularity internationally. These sports are generally less popular than mainstream options like football or basketball. But they have a devoted enough following to provide a lucrative market for bookies. Who are savvy enough about how to ride the trend.
Let’s look at some of the popular niche sports and how bookies can leverage it to grow their businesses.
What Are Niche Sports?
Niche sports are sports that get only small compensation in large conferences but still have all the fans you could want. Few participate, fewer watch, compared to the other sports that dominate on mainstream media. But strong betting engagement opportunities exist due to their loyal fan base.
It’s true that niche sports will never bring the volume of action that the NFL or NBA do, but they also face fewer competitors for market share in the space.
Niche Sports on the Rise
Other niche sports have undergone remarkable development in recent years. Here’s a look at some of the most popular emerging sports:
- Disc Golf: Disc golf is similar to golf but instead of a ball and clubs, it uses a flying disc (Frisbee). Players hit a target over the course of a course. Its prevalence has exploded — the subreddit doubled in size each month in early 2019.
- Everesting: Is a challenge for athletes to ascend the total elevation of Mount Everest, 8,848m, by repeatedly summiting a hill. And, nearing 100 countries, more than 5,000 Everesting attempts have been completed — a global phenomenon.
- Teqball: Invented in Hungary in 2014, is a blend of soccer and table tennis. Played on a curved table, the sport is gaining steam, particularly with retired soccer stars helping to popularize it.
- Paddle: Is tennis mixed with squash. It was born in Mexico and is now managed by multiple international entities. It is played on a smaller, enclosed court with specialized rackets and balls.
The Rise of Niche Sports: What Are They and Why Are They Popular?
COVID-19 has forced the cancellation of numerous traditional sporting events. As people searched for solo or socially-distanced sports. Niche options like disc golf and paddle soared in popularity.
Streaming and Media Exposure
Niche sports are now easier to watch on lines like YouTube and the Disc Golf Network and FloSports. If so, with increased exposure there has come increased fan interest and engagement.
Betting on Niche Sports: The Bookie Advantage
Niche sports offer a golden chance for bookmakers to diversify their income stream and avoid over-reliance on mainstream sports.
Low Competition, High Loyalty
Most betting sites will only bother with the major sports in their lines. This presents an opportunity for early movers to capture significant brand loyalty from underserved fans.
Year-Round Activity
So many niche sports during conventional off-seasons or run through the year. This allows bookies to maintain a steady cash flow.
Access to Betting Lines
Bookies need to work with a reliable Pay Per Head provider so they can offer more betting lines. Leading PPH providers cover someone 80 sports and leagues from around the world and have even started to implement emerging niche markets.
Marketing Strategy
Creating targeted marketing plan is a must. Engage with niche sports communities through Facebook, Reddit, or YouTube to cut the middleman and present your platform directly to potential fans. Real engagement means building trust and driving traffic to your site.
Build a Community
Once users, keep niche sports fans engaged. Provide sites, loyalty packages and unfastened content material to foster a network. Bookies that will create a sense of belonging will have an even higher retention.
What is in store for niche sports on betting?
Niche sports are not a fringe trend anymore. As a result, they will only gain popularity, which means good news for shrewd bookies.
By getting ahead of the curve and investing in your tooling now, bookmakers can effectively dominate this nascent market and set themselves up for long-lasting streams of revenue.
Final Thoughts
Niche sports are a brilliant addition to your sportsbook business. It’s a clear path to profitability, with dedicated fans, rising exposure and little competition. Be ahead of the curve with the right partner with a premium Pay Per Head provider, create a solid marketing plan, and craft a dedicated community.
So have a focus on niche sports before the race is on.
