It would be remiss for operators to think they’re innovating ‘just’ for the World Cup. Savvy
operators will have one eye on retaining customers post-World Cup and stretching their interests into other sports and bet types. Engagement tools are the perfect way to do this.
BLAZ ZITNIK SVP, Betting Engagement Tools, Sportradar
Preparing for World Cup 2026 Innovation, personalisation, social experience
As the biggest World Cup in history approaches, operators face a rare opportunity: millions of new bettors, unprecedented engagement potential, and a tournament tailor-made for innovation. Sportradar's Blaz Zitnik believes those who embrace personalised, social and AI-powered experiences stand to win long after the final whistle.
Tere’s already significant media coverage for this summer’s FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the USA. From a betting perspective, I read an article that suggested more than $150 billion worth of bets will be made during the month-long tournament. Of course, that figure is significant but I’m not at all surprised given the expanded nature of this year’s tournament which will see 48 teams play 104 matches over 39 days.
Given the revenue generating potential associated with a football World Cup, there’s a train of thought that suggests operators should err on the side of caution to deliver a customer offering that’s tried and tested – one that’s delivered engagement over the course of the long European football seasons, for example.
But I would push back on that position. Te World Cup is a truly unique sporting event and every four years we see how it brings fans from the same country together to support their national team. Tat creates a significant customer acquisition opportunity – an influx of new bettors looking for a sportsbook that can provide entertainment and engagement, as well as competitive pricing.
Te World Cup is a great time to innovate. In my experience clients dedicate additional resources for their World Cup activities and what’s more – they have budget available to pay for them. Tere’s close to zero risk for operators - if a solution doesn’t engage customers in the way originally envisioned, they can remove it from the website once the tournament has concluded.
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In a hyper-competitive market where there’s little to distinguish between betting websites, operators will be looking for a point of difference to make their sportsbook standout and elevate the fan experience to keep customers engaged and retained over the course of the tournament.
It would be remiss for operators to think they’re innovating ‘just’ for the World Cup. Savvy operators will have one eye on retaining customers post-World Cup and stretching their interests into other sports and bet types. Engagement tools are the perfect way to do this.
Since the last World Cup, I think there’s a perception that personalisation has shifted from ‘innovation’ to ‘always on’ feature. I’m not sure that’s quite true because there’s still much for operators to do within personalisation.
Take Sportradar’s World Cup engagement tools as an example. Our 3- in-1 solution can help operators satisfy a broad range of betting interests by visualising in ‘real time’ what’s happening during a match in a dynamic and engaging way. Te Stats Hub provides access to all historic data in one place, allowing customers to search for statistics and information relevant to the tournament or a specific match. It serves up to customers betting markets relevant to their search criteria.
Bet Concierge on the other hand is an AI assistant that delivers a conversation experience by answering fans' questions about sports games, both pre-match and live. It provides information about live in-
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