This article was written by Alan Bruce, Chief Operating Officer at The Unit.
Before the proliferation of online betting, the process of choosing exact markets to bet on within a sporting event was generally simpler. Prior to the standout football match taking place that day, the player would walk into the betting shop, write down their selection of who would win, and place the bet over the counter.
The number of markets available to bet on at that time were more limited, but the key difference compared to the current landscape is that these markets were standalone. Bet builders, or single-game parlays (SGPs) as they are known in the US, have changed the dynamics of sports betting, with inter-related markets coming about as a result of the increased demand for greater betting opportunities at online sportsbooks.
From Accas to Bet Builders: How Bet Types Have Evolved
This has been a ubiquitous facet of online sports betting since Sky Bet introduced its RequestABet feature in 2015, but the process towards reaching this point goes back further. Prior to RequestABet, we had already seen the growth of multiples, accumulators, block bets, system bets etc. There has been a constant desire within the industry to find solutions that allow players to make multiple bets on the same event, or multiple bets on the same participant in different competitions.
Does the player wish to combine their bet on a result with a bet on the first goalscorer? They now have that opportunity. Do they want to place a bet on Manchester United to win at the weekend, but also wager on them to win the Premier League outright? That’s also an option (as unrealistic as that potential outcome may sound at the current time!). These bet types provide more value than they would if the player chose to bet on the different markets individually, while also saving them time.
How the Data Backs the Bet Builders Boom
While many of the fundamentals of online sports betting have remained the same since the inception of remote betting around the turn of the century, there is clear evidence that player habits have dramatically shifted towards favouring SGPs in recent years.
You only have to look at how sports betting trends have developed in the US since the overturning of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018; these state-by-state markets provide proof of how SGPs are growing in popularity. Research from Deutsche Bank showed SGP stakes as a percentage of total staking in the US went up from 19.2% in 2019 to 24.3% in 2023. Margins from SGPs increased from 13.1% to 18.5% during that period, with players increasingly showing a tendency to add more legs to their bets.
Operators Are Seeing Record Growth in SGPs
Flutter Entertainment said its key brands took 262 million same-game bets across the globe in the last quarter of 2023 alone. This was a whopping 75% increase from the same period in 2022. That growth can partially be put down to the growth of SGPs in the US, with Flutter’s FanDuel brand running away as a clear leader of the pack across US states; Flutter also owns Sky Bet, which is seen as a founding father of this bet type due to the aforementioned RequestABet feature. The impact has also been felt by FanDuel’s competitor DraftKings, with CEO Jason Robins saying on a Q2 2023 earnings call that SGPs had been “a huge part of the story.”
The growth of this bet type is evident not just in US-focused events though. During the Copa America and European Championship football tournaments in summer 2024, bet builders accounted for 24% and 18% of bets respectively with supplier Kambi.
These types of bets have not only made a difference to pre-match betting, but they have also led to developments in in-play betting. To make these games even more valuable for players, they now have the option to cash-out during SGP bets too.
SGPs Appeal to Casual and Serious Bettors Alike
Aside from the additional opportunities for players to win, the appeal of inter-related betting can be extended to several types of player. The serious player who carefully studies the market and often finds themselves on the winning side of a bet can look for where they see value when combining bets.
Meanwhile, operators have seized upon the opportunity to present SGPs to the more casual player. As soon as the player logs in at 10am on a Saturday, they can be presented with a special offer on Chelsea to beat Liverpool later that day, for example. They can also ask the operator for odds when building a bet, and the process does not have to be too complex for casual players to understand.
Why Operators Need the Right Tech for Bet Builders
With so many different multiples required from the vast array of markets on offer in any given sporting event, operators must invest in premium quality technology that can cater to the needs of the players. This is an area which we at The Unit are able to provide class-leading product design and development help for operators.
We are renowned for providing robust, scalable platforms with intuitive user interfaces, and our technology can efficiently integrate with third-party data suppliers. Our product design and development expertise allows us to create personalised sportsbook frontends, native mobile apps and sportsbook redesigns.
With this diverse offering, and our commitment to developing top-tier sportsbook solutions, we can ensure operators have the best possible grounding from which to offer important betting products such as same-game bets.
Let’s Talk About Your Sportsbook’s Future
We would gladly welcome the opportunity to tell you more about how we can bring the highest-quality technology to boost an online sportsbook as the demands of the market continue to develop. Please feel free to get in touch with our friendly and approachable team today.
