Entain has reported a significant uplift in NBA betting activity as a result of the basketball competition’s matches across major cities on the continent this year and last year.
Basketball
The Ladbrokes and Coral owner said France recorded “one of the most impressive uplifts in stakes across the entire tour,” with betting activity when the NBA stopped in Paris last year up 241 per cent compared with a typical NBA week.
For the same event, Italian NBA betting activity was up 119 per cent and Germany 72 per cent.
For Berlin’s NBA game on January 16 this year, German NBA betting activity surged by 274 per cent across Entain’s brands and sportsbooks, with Italian activity up 110 per cent and Greece 68 per cent.
“Conversations around long-term expansion, including the possibility of placing full-time NBA franchises in European cities, continue to resurface whenever engagement surges in major markets like Germany and France,” said Entain’s head of European basketball Rene Simanovic.
“As a result, this data not only measures betting interest, but also acts as an indicator of where the NBA’s brand is resonating most strongly – and where the fans are.”
London then hosted an NBA game on January 18, with UK betting activity on that occasion up 19 per cent, German activity 28 per cent and activity in France up 35 per cent.
“This surge in engagement underscores a significant and accelerating shift in customer behaviour,” Simanovic added.
“These fixtures are clearly resonating with audiences across our markets, and we are witnessing basketball establish itself as a major growth driver within the sports betting ecosystem. By contrast, the UK’s more subdued response highlights a key opportunity for future growth.”