5 Lessons Learned - Integrating an Online Sports Book Into a Land-Based Casino Group

Experiences from a Regulated Market as the US Considers Legalizing Sports Betting
July 2017
5 Lessons Learned
Integrating an Online Sports Book Into
a Land-Based Casino Group

www.chalklinesports.com 5 Lessons Learned: Integrating an Online Sports Book into a Land-based Casino
Executive Summary
Background
Lesson #1: Casino Patrons are Sports Bettors
Lesson #2: Build Buy-in Throughout the Organization
Lesson #3: Drive Retail Revenue via Digital
Lesson #4: Measurement – Start Simple
Lesson #5: Select Excellent Vendors and Demand Innovation
Opportunities for US Operators
About Chalkline Sports
Contents
1
2
3
4
5

High-growth sports betting markets present a unique
opportunity for casinos, as casino patrons have a strong
tendency to already wager on sports.
Executive Summary
1
2
3
Consumer rapid adoption of mobile means that online
sports betting, like social casino, can be a key tool for
engaging customers when they are outside the casino.
Customer loyalty program integration for casino + sports
betting is the lynchpin for effective cross-promotion and
improved marketing ROI.

The Chalkline Sports leadership team has
experience integrating an online sports
book into a land-based casino group.
Sun International, a listed company headquartered in
Johannesburg, South Africa, acquired Voltbet.com, an
online sports book.
The new integrated website, Sunbet.co.za, launched in
November 2013 and operates today.
Daniel Kustelski and Jason Foster (now founding
partners at Chalkline Sports) managed the sports
book from inception, successfully integrating it into
casino operations at Sun International.
Fast-forward to 2017 in the USA.
The United States is actively considering regulated
sports betting.
One of the most reasonable paths forward includes
leveraging existing operators—namely, casino
properties and groups.
Over the past four years, our team has aggregated
data and experiences that we feel will inform the
opportunity for regulated sports betting in the USA.
Background
Source: https://www.businesslive.co.za

Sports Betting Grows Rapidly
478
847
1,004
1,582
2,403
R0
R500
R1,000
R1,500
R2,000
R2,500
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Millions
South Africa Sports Betting GGR (in Rand, Millions)
+48.2%
2011 – 2015 CAGR
Source: Gambling outlook: 2016 – 2020 • South Africa, PWC

Voltbet Leads Online Sports Betting
Source: CNN.com, February 2013

Strategic rationale regarding the acquisition of an online sports book and
subsequent re-launch of Sunbet.co.za in 2013:
“We believe that the sports betting industry in
South Africa is in its infancy and
offers high growth.
More importantly, this acquisition provides an
opportunity to gain experience
in operating in an online environment.”
Source: 2013 Sun International Annual Report
Sun International Aquires Voltbet

Casino Patrons are Sports Bettors1
65%of Casino Patrons
bet on Sports
in South Africa
Extend new sports betting products to
your existing customer base.
• The value proposition is simple.
Acquire NDCs for your book at a much lower CPA than your
purely online competitors. and add marginal revenue to
customers the casino already has.
• Add “sports book” marketing personas.
Including sports-specific CRM segments will allow you to
quickly categorize league and team affinities.
• Reach out around passion points.
There were more NCAA brackets filled out than votes for the
POTUS. Leverage big events to build your database.
• Entertain and engage.
Own the thumb of your customers with simple, mobile-first
interactions to collect data and build relationships.
Source: All Media Products Survey (AMPS), 2015
Pro Tip: digital marketing cross-promotion--via email, SMS and mobile app—yielded high ROI.

Build Buy-In Across the Organization2
Finance
Marketing
Management
Customer Care
Success Starts in the C-Suite
• Begin with the end in mind.
Executive leadership must agree on overall strategy
and success measures.
• Identify cultural challenges early.
Bricks & mortar businesses have not always
welcomed online counterparts. Be active early in
winning over key team members.
• Build new organizational structures that
promote sports book division growth.
Organization marketing, operations and finance
teams must be connected to the new division to
ensure positive change.
• Align incentives at the corporate and
property levels.
Make sure everyone is keeping score the right way.

Use Data to Drive Retail Revenue via Digital3
Build Integrated Customer Loyalty
• Loyalty programs immediately demonstrated the value of
casino + sports book.
Our analysis demonstrated that a significant percentage of customers
earned loyalty points on casino and sports betting play, and the
feedback on this integration was uniformly positive from MVPs.
• New depositing customers provide retail opportunities.
Registration with a sports book requires a postal code that can be used
to determine proximity to a property. Include the casino in the online
Welcome Process.
• Cross-match data sets to build segments.
Regularly scanning your casino and sports book databases allows you
to identify customers that can be migrated into higher value categories.
• Track and target across devices and locations.
Ad technology can enable customized offer targeting when the bettor is
located near a casino or retail location.
Pro Tip: when it came to identifying casino opportunies for sports bettors, our experience and data sets
demonstrated significantly better correlations for certain casino games over others.

Measurement: Start Simple4
Educate the Organization Around
Metrics
• Communicate sports book progress from
the top.
If it’s important, measure it. Incorporate sports book
reporting at the top corporate level to promote visibility.
• Recognize unique metrics.
Each corporate division or property will have their own
goals, and even retail and mobile sports books will
have different success measures.
• Find ways to promote team wins.
Cross-promotions from casino to sports book or vice-
versa provide a great example of the metrics required
to build a long-term organizational success.
• Measure mobile first.
It’s your future.

Select Excellent Vendors & Demand Innovation5
Focus on YOUR Core Competency
• Define clear requirements for your business goals.
The best software suppliers will be force-multipliers for your
sports betting division, and should understand your needs and
opportunities.
• Partner with vendors that empower you to leverage
your competitive differentiators.
Sports books compete on offers & promotions, loyalty & bonus
systems, UX design, and customer care. What makes you
different? Your vendor must help you amplify your strong suits.
• Think about vendors in 3-5 year time horizons.
Look ahead at emerging consumer trends and think about the
needs of your future customers. More mobile? More social?
More data-driven? Use these trends to inform your decision.
Pro Tip: As you define your path for buy, build or partner for sports book software,
critically assess your ability to build and maintain rapidly changing technology.

Start identifying sports bettors in your loyalty program today.
Sports-based games and interactions are legal ways to start engaging customers…and to identify
potential new casino customers at the same time.
Connect with customers in ways that reflect consumer trends.
Start with mobile, but complement digital efforts with live events that attract Millennials. Casinos
have a unique opportunity to deliver compelling mobile AND in-venue experiences.
Build marketing programs and measurement to meet the opportunity.
Season-long sports marketing campaigns and sport-focused live events can kick things off as
casinos start building simple success metrics and integrating sports products into loyalty programs.
Opportunities for US Operators
US states have Proposed
Sports Betting Legislation
(as of July 2017)
40
11
1
2
3
US States have
Commercial Casinos25M
Americans placed
a bet last year
(American Gaming Association)
$150B
Data Supports the Opportunity
Amount Americans
wagered last year
(American Gaming Association)

Economic Impact of Legalized Sports Betting
American Gaming Association
>> Follow American Gaming Association on Twitter
Economic Impact of New Jersey’s Online Gaming: Lessons Learned
iDevelopment and Economic Association
>> Visit iDEAGrowth.org
Online Gaming from Land-Based Perspective: Observing 15th Anniversary of SIGHT
(Note: there are two parts to this resource.)
Spectrum Gaming Group
>> Follow Spectrum Gaming Group on Twitter
How to Legalize Sports Betting
Daniel Wallach
>> Follow Daniel on Twitter
Sports Betting Lite – An Opportunity to Fill in the US Gambling Sector
Ewa Bakun
>> Follow Ewa on Twitter
Additional Resources

The Chalkline team has operated sports books in Africa and North
America and built personalized marketing automation tools with
actionable business intelligence for 15+ years.
Chalkline Sports’ turnkey marketing automation platform
empowers operators to:
Acquire new customers throughout the event lifecycle
Convert single bets into loyal customers
Drive greater customer lifetime value
Chalkline is built to bridge affiliate and loyalty programs, amortizing
customer acquisition costs across an ever-increasing customer
lifetime value.
About Chalkline Sports
Learn More About Chalkline Sports

Connect with Chalkline
www.chalklinesports.com
hello@chalklinesports.com
@ChalkLineSports
View all of Chalkline Sports’ Industry Intelligence

5 Lessons Learned - Integrating an Online Sports Book Into a Land-Based Casino Group

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5 Lessons Learned - Integrating an Online Sports Book Into a Land-Based Casino Group