Pulse
SPORTS BETTING THE FOOTBALL POOLS
Te Football Pools: 99 years and counting
Now approaching its centenary, Mark McGuiness, Head of Digital Marketing and Casino at the UK-based online sportsbook and casino operator, details how The Pools is using its brand power to acquire and retain players whilst evolving its offering to keep pace with the industry.
In February 1923, Te Football Pool, then known as the Littlewood Football Pool, distributed its first coupons outside Manchester United's Old Trafford ground.
Te traditional and most popular game was the Treble Chance, now branded the Classic Pools game. Players pick 10, 11 or 12 football games from the offered fixtures to finish as a draw, in which each team scores at least one goal. Te player with the most accurate predictions wins the top prize, or a share of it if more than one player has these predictions.
Littlewoods, Vernons and Zetters were the largest pools companies. Brought together in 2007 by Sportech under the brand ‘Te New Football Pools,’ now known as '’Te Football Pools,’ offers small stake, high prize games including Premier 10 and Jackpot 12. In 2017, Te Football Pools was sold to OpCapita, a private equity company, for £83m.
Is The Football Pools brand still as popular now as it was in its heyday?
Popularity always ebbs and flows and it is just part of operating a brand in any industry or market. However, Te Football Pools and Te Pools brands remain hugely popular for those looking for big wins from small stakes.
Te Football Pools was actually the forerunner to the National Lottery and to this day we have a large player base from this demographic, but by updating our offering and ensuring we meet and exceed modern player preferences we have been able to reach other audiences and this in turn has ensured both brands continue to be popular.
How do you ensure The Football Pools remains relevant? Can you explain the difference between The Football Pools and The Pools?
P114 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS
Mark McGuiness Head of Digital Marketing and Casino, Te Football Pools
Te Football Pools offers our traditional portfolio of jackpot games, such as the football- based score draws game of Classic Pools where players are in with the chance of scooping the £3m top prize.
Customers can play-as-you go or subscribe so that they never miss the opportunity of playing their favourite numbers. Te Pools is home to our Pools Games, sportsbook and casino, and, in the not-too-distant future, all products will be available on one single brand destination at
TePools.com.
Are classic Pools Games popular with online players?
Classic Pools has a growing audience of digital or online players. We see two general player types, those that analyse Head-2-Head statistics on previous football matches in order to identify matches that may result in a score draw, and other players that prefer using their favourite numbers as the means to select possible matches that may end in the score draw result.
Te main challenge like every digital
e-commerce business is making sure the game interface is fast, intuitive and, of course, mobile- friendly. Tat’s why we have two versions of the game presentation, one being just selecting numbers and the other the detailed H-2-H game fixture view. We are always improving our game UI and have plans to introduce improvements and gamification in the coming months.
How have you maintained a sense of community online? Is this still important?
Absolutely! We have a loyal social media following on Facebook and Twitter as Te Football Pools has always had that social
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