SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Ahead of the hotly anticipated beginning of UEFA EURO 2024 when Germany host Scotland in Munich, SBC News catches up with bet365’s Steve Freeth to examine how the Stoke-on-Trent based operator is approaching the tournament.
Freeth touches on the operator’s latest products, promotions and bonuses as well as its marketing strategy ahead of one of the biggest football events of 2024.
SBC News: Looking ahead to the Euros, what is bet365’s strategy ahead of the highly anticipated tournament?
Steve Freeth: At bet365 we don’t do ordinary, and every month throughout this season we’ve had over 20,000 boosts to prove it.
But at 12pm every match day during Euro 2024 we’re going even bigger, with a guaranteed Super Boost on offer. As well as the daily Super Boosts, our regular suite of offers and promotions will also be available throughout the Euros Finals at bet365. These include the Early Payout offer, Bet Builder +, Winnings Boost, Euros Soccer Acca Boost and the Soccer Substitute Guarantee.
My favourite offer, however, is saved for the knockout stages and our new Extra Time Extra Chance. Here, players get bets on selected player markets paid out in Bet Credits if they lose in normal time but go on to win in extra time, including Bet Builders.
Cast your mind back to the 2022 World Cup Final with Lionel Messi scoring his second (2+ 15/2) and Kylian Mbappe bagging his hat-trick (66/1) in extra time. I’d go as far as saying that’s the most we’ve ever lost in a football match – to my knowledge, at least.
Across the tournament, we will also be running an adapted version of our popular free-to-play game The 6 Scores Challenge. With the number of games reduced to four for the tournament, it presents bet365’s players with a greater opportunity at prizes, with less predictions needed to land a top prize.
We want to make every day of Euro 2024 better for our customers whether it be with a guaranteed Super Boost or bespoke offer on our best-in-class app and product.
SBC: What teams are attracting the most betting attention ahead of Friday’s tournament kick off?
SF: England were previously our most backed team to win Euro 2024, with 17.7% of customers having placed bets on Gareth Southgate’s side to end 58 years of hurt this summer.
However, with all the injury concerns and lacklustre performances in the last two friendlies, they have now been overtaken by France with 16.9% of outright bets being placed on the serial winners as opposed to 15.8% on England.
Portugal have been on the rise, no doubt due to Cristiano Ronaldo’s age-defying showing against the Republic of Ireland. The Euro 2016 winners took up 13.7% of single bets in the Outright market.
Hosts Germany sit fourth well clear of Spain, while the Netherlands have also gained support after some encouraging friendly outings.
Most Popular Euro 2024 Winner Bets
- France – 16.9%
- England – 15.8%
- Portugal – 13.7%
- Germany – 13%
- Spain – 9.4%
- Netherlands – 6.1%
- Italy – 5.6%
- Croatia – 4.3%
- Belgium – 3.1%
- Denmark – 1.8%
All stats based on single bets placed by bet365 customers up to 2pm on Thursday 13th June 2024.
Elsewhere, 23.1% of bet365 customers are backing Kylian Mbappe to be the top goalscorer at Euro 2024, with Real Madrid’s latest signing also leading the way when it comes to UEFA Player of the Tournament bets.
And staying on the Bernabeu theme, former Real Madrid maestro Ronaldo now sits second behind Mbappe with 13.9% of bets being placed on the 39 year-old in the Top Goalscorer market after his eye-catching brace against the Irish.
Fleet-footed Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal is the most popular bet in the UEFA Young Player of the Tournament betting market, while there has also been some interest in the England trio of Cole Palmer, Kobbie Mainoo and Jude Bellingham.
Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes is comfortably top of the Most Assists list with punters looking to get with Portugal in all sorts of markets including 10.6% of wagers predicting another France vs Portugal final.
SBC: How important is the Euros to bet365’s trading performance in 2024? Is it likely to be one of the most bet-on events of the year?
SF: As with any international football tournament, all eyes will be on Germany as the best teams in Europe fight it out to be crowned champions.
We’re expecting football fans from across the world to get involved, and we’ve already seen several teams heavily backed, and star players supported in our bespoke player markets.
If England can navigate their group with ease, we could see a huge increase in optimism and patriotic betting across the country, which could see their odds shorten even further.
Some of us remember the carnage from the 2022 World Cup Final, so a low-scoring showpiece on July 14th would be preferable! However, in all honesty, like most, we can’t wait for it to get under way.
SBC: Who’s bet365’s favourites for the tournament? Do traders think England could finally end their trophy drought?
SF: England had been extremely well backed on the run up to the tournament but that support has noticeably declined over the final few days, although they’re still clinging onto favouritism in what is surely a ‘now or never’ moment for Gareth Southgate.
Mbappe took the goalscoring honours at the World Cup and we’ll be more than happy if he continues his record of not scoring at a European Championship, having taken more than double the amount of bets on him than Harry Kane.
There are many expecting good things from Portugal in a straightforward looking group with Bruno Fernandes being backed to shine in Germany. However, I’ll give the final word to a certain Cristiano Ronaldo who is refusing to go quietly after giving us decades of heartbreak. We’ve taken thousands of bets on him to finish top of the charts since the ROI showing and it would be just like him to have a major say in proceedings.
