Poll: Are bookmakers trading too aggressively?

The battle for UK market share in the post-PoC landscape has never been so fierce, with many observers describing the daily deluge of price enhancements and special offers as a “race to the bottom”.

Last week Ladbrokes chief executive Jim Mullen said the recent Cheltenham Festival was the most competitive and aggressive he had ever seen with some bookmarkers “abandoning bookmaking principles” in the fight to win custom.

The offer of specials and enhanced prices is nothing new but we are increasingly seeing those with the biggest budgets willing to act as loss-leaders by taking a short-term hit in order to win the more distant prize.

While offering eight places on the Masters or returning half of losing stakes on losing each-way bets on the Grand National may not be sustainable in the long-term, such offers do resonate with punters, leading to funded accounts and greater brand loyalty.

However, Mullen says Ladbrokes will continue to employ a sensible trading strategy and walk away when “commercial and common sense” has been lost, with such aggressive marketing only likely to attract customers of a higher CPA and ones not as valuable in the longer-term.

With this in mind, this week’s EGR poll would like to get your view on current sportsbook trading and marketing strategies – are they too aggressive or exactly what is required, and expected, in the current environment?

Have your say on the right-hand side of the page.