Altenar, a sportsbook software provider, believes that taking a look into play psychology and how bettors experience sports betting and fantasy sports betting is key for operators, especially when it comes to knowing your demographic, understanding the sports content you’ll need to achieve higher rates of player retention and overall, how a player thinks influences their decisions on your website and in turn, your sportsbook success.
Altenar took a look at Daniel L. Wann, Ryan K. Zapalac, Ted B. Peetz, Frederick G. Grieve and Julie A. Partridge who wrote a paper titled ‘The Influence of Fantasy Sports Participation on Fans’ Perceptions of the Impact of the Legalisation of Sports Wagering’ which documented the studies that “Wann and his colleagues conducted, investigating how the increased availability of legalised sports gambling might impact fan experiences.”
This paper took a pool of samples from around the US to explore 4 hypotheses that look at how players interact with sports content now that betting is largely available around the US:
- As access to legal sports wagering becomes more available, greater levels of fantasy sports involvement would be associated with increased wagering.
- As access to legal sports wagering becomes more available, greater levels of fantasy sports involvement would be associated with increased interest in the sport.
- As access to legal sports wagering becomes more available, greater levels of fantasy sports involvement would be associated with increased sports consumption via attendance and televised sport.
- As access to legal sports wagering becomes more available, greater levels of fantasy sports involvement would be associated with the belief that wagering on athletic contests would increase the excitement of a sporting event.
These hypotheses considered that players and bettors were heavily involved in fantasy sports before the ability to bet on the events, and so the production of fantasy sports betting led to increased entertainment factors, especially as the world of fantasy betting became televised, encased in fandom ecstasy and wagering thrills.
The study found that overall, the addition of betting to the world of fantasy sports increased the excitement of the games and events exponentially as compared to having little to no impact on fantasy sports players.
The below graph shows the results of the study and how it appeared that players in the US were more likely to accept fantasy sports betting as a much-needed addition to their much-loved pastime.
The study unearthed that on average, fantasy sports betting enhanced excitement and wasn’t considered a distraction by the largest portion (1028 students) of those who participated in the study that was published in 2021.
As a result, it could be said that many fantasy sports players are likely to want the ability to bet on their favourite events and games, and if you’re looking to add fantasy sports to your online offering, or create an online site, you should contact Altenar, a sportsbook software provider, to start your journey into the fantasy sports betting industry.
