Frank Floor Talk: MaximBet reaches out to an underappreciated sports betting market – women

June 22, 2022 2:00 PM
  • John G. Brokopp, CDC Gaming Reports
June 22, 2022 2:00 PM
  • John G. Brokopp, CDC Gaming Reports

Conjure up an image, if you will, of a group of friends at a sports bar celebrating a winning bet on their favorite team.

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Ready?

Dollars to doughnuts you’re seeing a bunch of guys in sports jerseys and backward caps, whooping it up, high-fiving, fist bumping, and joyfully toasting one another as their server arrives with a celebratory round of beers.

Present day reality indicates, however, that the vision you just conjured up is stereotypically flawed.

Fact is, sports betting is not just a “guy thing”.

Based upon new research into the demographics of sports betting, you’re seeing only half the picture, because across the room there is just as likely to be a group of gals locking arms in a victory dance over cashing a bet.

One recent study revealed that more than 4.6 million women signed up for sportsbook apps in 2021, representing a year-over-year increase of 115 percent.

The millions of dollars that sports betting companies invest in electronic advertising revolve around partnerships with male athletes as spokesmen, images of young men making plays on their cell phones, and only a fleeting glance of pretty faces in supporting roles.

It would appear to be an opportune time to grow and cultivate the female sports betting audience that the companies are failing to grasp.

One company whose leadership is taking note of this burgeoning demographic is Maxim, a publishing powerhouse with 25 million digital visitors per month, a global circulation of nine million, and accessibility to people on six continents and in 75 countries.

With that magnitude of a global footprint, entry into sports betting with MaximBet was a natural. At present it is live in Colorado, with market access in 11 additional states across the country, as well as Ontario, Canada. They are only weeks away from going into Indiana, a sports betting hotbed.

Doug Terfehr, an award-winning communications, sports, and integrated marketing professional, is the vice-president of marketing at MaximBet.

This columnist reached out to Doug in an attempt to gather insight into the company’s groundbreaking marketing strategy to attract the female sports betting audience.

“Research indicates that the popularity of watching and enjoying sports is pretty much 50/50 among men and women,” Terfehr said. “Given that, the inclination for people to want ‘a little skin in the game’ to ramp up the excitement really does not come as a surprise.

“First and foremost, sports betting is a recreational activity for fans. Something extra to keep people interested and engaged, and to add to the general excitement that surrounds supporting their teams. It is a leisure time activity intended to be done responsibly.

“There’s more adrenaline when there’s money on the line, adding not only to the enjoyment of watching the games but creating situations where interest is naturally going to be higher.”

It’s a marketing dynamic shared by the majority of sports betting companies, but that’s where the similarity ends, according to Terfehr.

“MaximBet is viewing the industry (sports) and the category (entertainment) much differently,” he said. “Sports and entertainment are all one thing. Females are just as attracted to this as males. Rather than invest in traditional advertising, we would rather invest in parties and meet-and-greets, something they can’t buy themselves. That’s where the excitement is.”

The company proved it is putting its money where its mouth is, as well as investing in its trail-blazing marketing philosophy, by signing rap artist Nicki Minaj to a multi-year contract.

“Nicki is going to be our global ambassador,” Terfehr said. “She is the most successful female rapper of all time. She reached that level in an entertainment field that has historically been dominated by males. She came through.

“She will be the first female ambassador in sports betting. Nicki recognizes the female component of the industry and understands the audience. She has the talent and know-how to open up the world of sports betting as entertainment to females.”

Daniel Graetzer, MaximBet’s CEO, said in a statement:

“Nicki is best known around the world as a mega superstar, but we know her as a brilliant business woman. Her role as a strategic advisor to MaximBet will be invaluable to us. She’s built one of the most powerful brands in the world, her own, and she’s applying that same savvy and creativity to our lifestyle sports betting brand. I couldn’t be more excited to be working with her. There is no one better suited to helping us take this form of entertainment mainstream.”

Taking it “mainstream” correlates to appreciating the female market’s growth and continued growth potential in a field where they have been underappreciated and underserved.

“What value in sports can you place on the opportunity to attend a party with Nicki Minaj?” Terfehr asked. “As I observed, it is something that people cannot buy themselves.”

With a focus on the female component of sports betting enthusiasts, Terfehr dispels the perception that the typical woman sports fan who supports their team through thick and thin doesn’t put thought into the games now that the opportunity exists.

They are not die-hard fans of teams who look at games from a betting perspective through rose-colored glasses with a rah-rah approach that at times defies logic. Sure, they want their team to win, but now there’s an added dimension.

“Female bettors are perceived as inclined to bet with their hearts, but that is not necessarily the case,” he observed. “We have found that female bettors will do their research. Early indications show that they are interested in and participate in bets like player props and in-game betting.”

Terfehr observed that from a MaximBet perspective, their audience is younger than the sports betting category overall.

“We are more likely to attract first-time recreational sports bettors than bettors who have been involved with the activity for a while,” he noted.

The sports betting industry is still young and has a lot of maturing and expansion ahead of it.

“It is still only available to 31 percent of the country,” Terfehr said. “It is not even close to maturation. Even so, sports betting is undeniably main stream. It no longer exists in the shadows. It has become as completely comfortable for people to discuss as talking about the office pool.”

Cultivating women participants is at the very core of MaximBet’s marketing strategy, and with the face and name of Nicki Minaj to represent them, the battle lines in a highly competitive business are drawn.

We’ll be watching.