Online Industry Is Rapidly Growing Now: Mikhail Danshin, Marketing Expert at Sports.ru

In future, betting providers that won’t spend money on TV advertising but focus on the online promotion will gain a competitive advantage. It is the opinion of Mikhail Danshin, Marketing and Sales Specialist at Sports.ru.

In an interview with Russian Gaming Week, the expert reveals what challenges betting operators face while promoting their platforms, what trends can be seen in online marketing, and what actions beginning bettors should avoid.

Interviewer: Russian Gaming Week (RGW)
Respondent: Mikhail Danshin (M.D.)

RGW: Tell us about the current state of the Russian betting market.

M.D.: The FIFA World Cup 2018 and advertising on federal channels attracted new betting players. However, the majority of betting shops failed to retain them.

The online industry is rapidly growing now, while the offline environment has reached the peak and started going down. Therefore, a lot of bookmakers reduce their betting shop networks.

RGW: What common challenges do betting companies face while promoting their business?  

M.D.: Initially, they include the unsteady and frequently inconsistent rules of social media and app stores. Bans, unequal access to advertising: these features are, unfortunately, referred to both Russian and foreign platforms. Therefore, sportsbooks are forced to use shady traffic channels, placing their brands on a par with illegal services. Such an approach does not improve a public opinion about the betting industry. Many people still believe that this activity is prohibited.

RGW: How do Russian gambling regulation laws affect the betting sector?  

M.D.: Identification simplifying was discussed before the FIFA World Cup 2018, but nothing doing. This issue is critical not only to citizens of towns and villages, but also to nine regions banning betting shops.

RGW: What online marketing trends are existing as of today? 

M.D.: We can see a unification trend in 2019. Most betting shops apply the same customer attraction channels and similar creative approaches. First deposit bonuses and increased odds are old hat. 

Betting operators should risk and try something new. Parimatch men's magazine is one of the recent introductions.

RGW: What marketing tools would you recommend to use for gambling company promotion? 

M.D.: First off, I will tell you what should be definitely not used. Betting providers keep putting huge funds into TV advertising without the possibility for assessing its efficiency. Thus, betting firms that do not waste money on TV promotion will gain a competitive advantage on a mid-term horizon.    

For instance, Mostbet preferring online advertising has entered the top 10 list of bookmakers in terms of unique users.

RGW: What aspects should beginning bettors take into account in order to decrease loss risks?    

M.D.: Primarily, they should not address shady market players: sellers of fixed matches, forecasts with 97% of outcome guarantee, or those engaged in account fraud. A lot of people are wary of the betting industry because of such swindlers.

RGW: You are going to speak at RGW 2019. What will your presentation be dedicated to? 

M.D.: I will talk about Betting Insider, a social network for betting lovers by Sports.ru. I will talk about the following: how we began our business, what marketing channels we applied to attract the audience, what challenges we faced when launching a complementary betting product.

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