Tailoring the future: How personalisation is redefining esports betting
As bettors demand faster, smarter, and more relevant experiences, personalisation has become a key battleground for operators. We spoke with Thomas Donson, Head of Trading at DATA.BET, about how personalisation in esports betting differs from traditional sports and what it takes to deliver real value to both the user and the business.
Personalisation in esports betting: What does it mean for operators and bettors?
The relationship between bettors and operators has remained very static for many years. The prevailing approach has been to treat every customer the same, focusing solely on the preferences of the majority. Those interested in less popular sports or markets have often been forced to search – sometimes extensively – for the bets they want to place. It’s been a convenient way for operators to streamline their offering while relying on tools like CRM to reach additional audience segments.
Personalisation has been the holy grail for most sportsbooks for more than a decade, showing bettors what they want to see instantly when they use the product. It is about minimising the steps needed to place a bet and creating a seamless, intuitive experience. DATA.BET uses its personalisation tools to deliver a truly unique betting journey. By analysing each partner’s target markets and user base locations, it ranks the most popular competitions in a given area, creating a more localised experience and aligning with relevant social trends. It then builds on individual user behaviour to present the most relevant, tailored offers – fully bespoke to each bettor.
For betting platforms, this significantly accelerates the betting process without requiring heavy investment in advanced analytics tools. Additional advantages include the ability to push new markets and features directly to users – promoting innovations without relying heavily on traditional marketing. The result is a far more cost-efficient approach to product improvement, benefiting every visitor to the site.
What are the main differences in personalisation strategies between esports and traditional sports betting?
The typical esports betting experience is often more dynamic and diverse than what we see in traditional sports. While both verticals offer a similar range of core markets, esports tends to include many more fast-paced and niche derivative markets that resonate with its audience. This diversity is largely driven by the constantly evolving nature of esports titles, where new characters, features, and abilities are central to gameplay progression. As these updates roll out, bettors are naturally drawn to explore new betting angles tied to those changes.
DATA.BET is continually enhancing its esports offering, regularly introducing fresh markets and pushing comprehensive betting experiences tailored to both platforms and their users. With deep customisation capabilities, the platform ensures that each bettor can easily discover the most relevant matches, teams, and in-game events based on their personal preferences.
The rapid tempo of esports events further amplifies the importance of personalisation. Unlike traditional sports – where odds and markets typically evolve slowly, such as in tennis or football – esports demands real-time responsiveness. Betting platforms must instantly highlight the most relevant options to maintain a fluid user experience and ensure that bettors can act swiftly before markets shift or close.
How do operators perceive effective personalisation, and how can providers like DATA.BET use it to make their platforms stand out?
For a long time, sportsbooks have seen personalisation as a key lever to enhance their product and boost user satisfaction, helping them meet individual user needs, regardless of geography. This becomes especially important for platforms operating across multiple regions under a single domain. In the absence of customisation, many are forced to take a mass-market approach, which often dilutes the experience.
While most operators would ideally like every segment of their business to be profitable and receive equal attention, scaling that ambition without the proper infrastructure can be both technically challenging and prohibitively expensive. In practice, many rely on CRM systems and basic data insights – mainly since approximately 80% of users stick to core markets – and often conclude that deeper personalisation isn’t worth the investment.
DATA.BET takes a different approach. Personalisation isn’t a feature — it’s a foundational element of the platform. By analysing user habits, betting history, and engagement patterns, operators can deliver a seamless and intuitive experience from the very first interaction. Our ranking tools ensure that local competitions receive just as much visibility as global tournaments, aligning with regional interests.
Additional features like widgets, statistical markets, and player props further enrich the product, encouraging deeper engagement and a more rewarding user journey. And because most sports are seasonal, DATA. BET’s system also adapts to changing behaviours – whether due to gaps in availability or shifts in user preference.
By continuously learning from each individual’s betting activity, the platform empowers operators to personalise at scale – without excessive spending – and reduce churn through smarter engagement.
What are the key challenges operators face in implementing personalised practices?
The biggest hurdle for any established betting platform when it comes to personalisation is the complexity of delivering tailored experiences at scale. While it may seem straightforward, true customisation requires deep data analysis, real-time insights, and a clear understanding of how individual behaviour and broader user trends should be weighted to shape a meaningful experience.
Another key challenge lies in striking the right balance between automation and flexibility. DATA. BET’s Single Page Application (SPA) addresses this by enabling partners to prioritise key events and markets specific to their territories – all within a dynamic, customisable framework. Operators also retain control over ranking logic, allowing them to highlight particular events or features that support their business goals. This level of adaptability is rare, as many existing solutions limit the ability to push new content or segment offers by audience.
A further obstacle is turning lower-performing user segments into profitable ones. Here, personalisation becomes a powerful lever – surfacing stable and strategically relevant markets to specific groups. DATA. BET’s risk management tools are designed to enhance engagement with higher-margin gameplay, minimising the need for costly bonuses or aggressive marketing tactics. This gives operators a practical way to drive growth without increasing operational overhead.
Is there still room for growth in building a personalised experience for bettors, or has the industry reached its peak?
Personalisation in betting is far from reaching its ceiling — it’s still evolving and gaining momentum. For operators aiming to stand out, it remains one of the most effective tools to enhance user engagement and build loyalty. While many platforms still rely on broad coverage and highlight only the most popular markets, there’s untapped potential in delivering truly user-centric experiences – where bettors can instantly access their preferred content without unnecessary friction.
Innovations in features, user journeys, and even brand communication can take personalisation to the next level. DATA. BET’s precision targeting capabilities are designed to do exactly that – offering tailored journeys that go far beyond what most traditional providers currently deliver.
As technology advances, so do user expectations. That’s why personalisation will continue to be a critical factor in driving growth, increasing retention, and defining the next generation of betting platforms.
