The U.S. sportsbook market has evolved well beyond the core spreads, totals, and parlays that once defined the local betting experience. As player expectations continue to change, features such as player props, same-game parlays, micro-betting, personalized content, and social functionality are becoming increasingly important to sportsbook product strategies.
In this interview, Altenar’s Product Director looks at the key trends shaping sportsbook development in the U.S., from the growing focus on individual athletes to the rise of personalized and more interactive betting experiences. He also explains how product priorities in the U.S. differ from other regulated markets and what sportsbooks need to consider when adapting their offering to American bettors.
– What does the U.S. market expect from a modern sportsbook product today?
Let's take a step back and define what constituted a successful sports betting platform a few years ago. Offering the core betting markets for U.S. sports, such as spreads and totals, and presenting them in the local way bettors expected, including the six-pack view, was probably sufficient. Some more advanced platforms also offered functionality such as parlays and teasers.
Parlays are, in a way, the ancestors of today's same-game parlays. Moving a few years forward, the situation is very different. Some of the most important additions relate to player prop markets and same-game parlay functionality. Player prop markets are now as important as core markets, if not more important, and bettors expect to be able to combine them with the rest of the core sportsbook markets.
We can add to this micro-betting markets, which allow players to place live bets on what is going to happen next during an event, such as next-play markets.
– When building a sportsbook for U.S. bettors, what product priorities differ most from other regulated markets?
There are three main differences. First is local content. U.S. bettors focus on specific competitions like the NBA, NHL, MLB, NFL, and, of course, local college leagues and markets. The second is content presentation. Compared with a traditional European sportsbook, where content is often presented as a large list of events, U.S. sportsbooks focus on presenting what customers care about most.
U.S. sports and player prop markets are presented in very prominent positions. The third difference is betting patterns. European bettors often prefer to place bets on winner markets and build accumulator bet slips, while U.S. bettors focus more on same-game parlays and combining player prop markets.
– Player props continue to attract significant attention. Why do you think this betting format resonates so strongly with American audiences?
Player prop markets are already extremely popular in the U.S. market, and this trend is growing in other jurisdictions too. I really believe this is a cultural shift.
The younger generation does not always have strong connections with clubs and teams. Instead, they often connect with specific individuals, such as athletes. They support those individuals rather than teams, and that is also reflected in their betting patterns. This is why player prop markets are so popular.
– Beyond player props, what other betting trends or engagement mechanics do you see becoming increasingly important in the U.S. market?
Besides player props and the functionality we have already mentioned, such as same-game parlays, a few other areas are becoming increasingly popular.
One of them, and probably the most important, is personalized content based on user betting patterns. This allows sportsbooks to replicate the “recommended for you” approach that users are already familiar with from other platforms, like Netflix.
Then there is the social and community aspect, which allows players to chat within the platform, copy bets from friends, or follow influencers.
Lastly, there are gamification and loyalty programs, which are more engaging and can support both acquisition and retention compared with the older, one-size-fits-all approach of simply offering a cashback bonus.
