As the landscape of sports betting changes and bettors’ preferences evolve, sportsbooks are adapting by more than just adding more markets to keep customers engaged, according to Dominic Hammond, the senior vice president of sports at Caesars Digital.

“I believe that content will always reign supreme,” Hammond stated. “We continuously introduce new markets. One key performance indicator we monitor is the number of markets we offer compared to our competitors, and we consistently perform exceptionally well in this regard.”

Moving Beyond Additional Betting Markets

Hammond noted that what customers are currently seeking beyond betting options are ways to safeguard their wagers.

As the National Football League (NFL) season kicked off, Caesars Digital unveiled a range of new products that directly address customer requests, as per Hammond.

Flex Parlays enable bettors to omit one or more selected legs from an eligible parlay and still potentially receive a reduced payout.

Safeguarding the Bettor’s Wager

Additionally, Injury Protection is a feature that can safeguard qualifying bets if a player involved is ruled out due to injury, even early in a game.

This feature is particularly valuable for NFL bettors, given that final lineups and injury updates for Sunday games are typically not available until close to kickoff.

“With Flex Parlay, we understand that customers seek enjoyment,” said Hammond. “Experiencing repeated losses on parlays isn’t pleasant. Customers want to feel like they’ve achieved a win in an organic manner. We all remember the times when we missed a parlay by just one leg.”

Flex Parlays Take Center Stage

Moreover, Caesars introduced Squad Builder, a free-to-play in-app game that allows users to construct a seven-player roster by revealing players throughout the week, with each player linked to a sportsbook player prop. Users who correctly predict all seven props stand a chance to win a $50,000 weekly jackpot, while achieving fewer correct selections can unlock other rewards.

“We deliberated extensively on this, and I believe it aligns with what customers expect and what is considered fair,” Hammond explained. “Injury Protection was a significant innovation last year, driven by feedback from our customers. With this feature, the bet is protected, and we offer a cash refund.

“Customers are expressing a desire for multiple options. They want diverse ways to safeguard their bets. While we may not always agree, customer feedback guides our decisions. Many of us are bettors ourselves, prompting us to consider what we would want to utilize and what entices us.”

Expanding Market Offerings

Hammond mentioned that Caesars possesses its own technology to create new products and provide unique features, exemplified by the Flex Parlay feature.

During this past summer’s World Cup, Caesars introduced Flex Parlay, showcasing ten times as many markets at the beginning of the event compared to what was offered for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

According to Hammond, the NFL season is a continuation of this strategy.

The surge in popularity of prediction markets is a primary concern for regulated sportsbooks. 

Elevating Prediction Markets

“We acknowledge their considerable offerings and substantial investments,” Hammond acknowledged. “Essentially, we view their product as a form of sports betting. If you can construct a parlay, it qualifies as sports betting. We believe that we can bring parlays into a different realm, as seen with features like Flex, along with Caesars’ rewards, promotions, loyalty programs – elements that prediction markets lack.”

Other sportsbooks are enhancing their offerings for the new NFL season as well.

BetMGM has introduced BetDefense, a player-injury protection feature akin to Caesars’ Injury Protection. Under the BetMGM system, like Caesars, players can have their player-prop stake returned if a player gets injured during the first quarter and cannot resume play.

NFL Spurs Product Advancements

Conversely, Fanatics announced an expansion of its Fair Play injury protection from its sportsbook to its prediction market platform. If a player is ruled out due to injury during the designated window, the trade amount is reimbursed as FanCash, applicable across the Fanatics ecosystem (e.g., jerseys, collectibles, tickets).

As Hammond emphasized, the NFL serves as the premier arena for sportsbooks to implement and assess the effectiveness of new features.

“We’re constantly innovating, but there’s no denying that the NFL represents the largest platform marketing-wise, affording us the greatest opportunity to make an impact in the market,” he concluded.