However, traditional parlays are just one part of the trend towards greater combinability and it’s no longer sufficient to offer combinations on just the main three offers of total points, moneyline and spread. Player prop bets, for example, are immensely popular in the US, which is why the opportunity to combine main and player props within the same game has recently become such a key part of the sportsbook experience.
SBCA: Was this always the case, or are parlays within the same game an emerging trend?
SN: The demand from players to create their own bets within the same game has been on the rise in all jurisdictions, not just in the US. When this concept was finding its feet in Europe as ‘request a bet’, a customer would need to directly contact a trading team with the combination they wanted before waiting an hour for a response. Now players can combine those bets and generate their combination in a matter of seconds through the front-end of the sportsbook, with effectively limitless possibilities across the offers on a single event. In the US, where there is a great deal of focus on the metrics which measure the performance of individual players, customers want to create bets where they feel they have an edge. The ability to have control to create their own bet, rather than select a pre-packaged offer, appeals to US players.
SBCA: Kambi recently announced its enhanced NFL Game Parlays product. Can you shed some more light on how it works, and what it lets players do?
SN: Launched for the start of the NFL season, our Game Parlays product is the natural next step of parlay betting, providing bettors with the opportunity to combine main and player prop bets within a single game and across multiple games for the first time.
The fact that we have built the technical infrastructure required as part of the existing sportsbook, rather than bolted on a third-party product, means that we will be able to continually iterate and add further product features in the future. For example, players will soon be able to place game parlays across additional games, leagues and sports, while in the long term, Kambi also plans to introduce cash out and in-game betting into the product.
SBCA: Can you expand on the complexities of offering such high levels of combinability? What makes this challenging, and what does a sportsbook need to have to offer this type of product?
SN: There are several layers to this. One of the key factors is simply the complexity of the mathematical modelling required. Automating the systems required to be able to accurately predict the correlation between such a huge volume of different outcomes and game scenarios occurring is an incredibly challenging feat at a structural level. It also requires extensive expertise, as well as the resources to commit to the necessary testing and development work. Alongside this is the technical infrastructure required to be able to support both instantaneous odds calculation and bet placement. When there are an effectively infinite number of bets that could be created, the power under the hood required to swiftly generate those prices, take and settle thousands of these bets a minute is naturally vast, and not something many sportsbooks are capable of catering to.
Originally appeared on SBC Americas
