As the US sports betting market matures, a profile of its various inhabitants is emerging. That profile is revealing some very interesting insights into the habits of one the market’s most unique players; basketball bettors.
According to a recent survey of sports betting habits by the analytics firm Pickwise, people who bet on college and professional basketball take a more analytic approach to their picks than other players. These guys, and about 78 percent of them are men versus 69 percent of the general betting population, are cut from a different cloth entirely.
Pickwise found that basketball bettors are the kind of players who research both their picks, and their sportsbooks. The study found that 33 percent of them spend two hours a week, or more, researching their picks. That charts pretty well compared to the 26 percent of the general population that actually researches their picks.
More importantly to operators and casino affiliates, basketball fans are more than twice as likely to say that odds are an important factor in their bets as other players. A full 40 percent of basketball bettors have accounts with multiple sportsbooks, as opposed to just 26 percent of the population at large.
While football remains the dominant sports betting sport in the US, a full 73 percent of the survey’s responses were from people who bet on football, basketball wagering is in second place. Pickwise found that 66 percent of respondents wagered on basketball.
Dan Pozner, VP of Content for Spotlight Sports Group, the outfit behind Pickwise, commented on the survey saying, “As legal sports betting continues to expand across the US, it’s becoming increasingly clear that betting profiles vary by sport. Fans are highly engaged across a number of sports, but those with interest in basketball stand alone with a uniquely diligent approach.”
Pozner and the other bookies, however, should be keeping their eyes on the increasingly sharp American basketball bettor.