Global gaming, sports betting and entertainment company Entain released a new report, highlighting the positive impact of docuseries in sports and how such blockbuster shows can help attract new sports fans and engage with existing ones.
It was back in November 2020 when Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, two iconic Hollywood actors, took over Wrexham AFC, the professional association football club based in Wrexham, Wales. Then, last year in August, Welcome to Wrexham, a docuseries describing the purchase and stewardship of the famous soccer club debuted. This weekend, Wrexham AFC is scheduled to debut in League Two of the English Football League, marking another important achievement for the soccer team.
The aforementioned events helped build up the “Wrexham Effect,” as described by Entain, which resulted in an increased engagement with the team’s fans and even onboarded new fans. Focusing on results, the global betting and gaming company revealed that Entain Australia has seen an increase of 781% in the number of bets for Wrexham AFC soccer games between 2019 and 2022/23.
Non-league Soccer’s Popularity Receives Boost from Docuseries
In the UK, the company said that its sportsbook saw an uptick of 59% in the number of bets placed on the National League’s 2021/22 season when compared to the 2017/18 season. According to Entain, the increase in the number of bets surpassed the increase observed for League One, which was 32%, League Two which was 24% and Championship League which grew by 15%. At the same time, Entain acknowledged the surge in popularity of non-league football pushed by docuseries.
More importantly, in the US, BetMGM saw a staggering increase in the number of bets placed on any Wrexham AFC soccer game. According to Entain, the number of bets for Wrexham soared by a staggering 3818% from the 2020/21 season to the 2022/23 season.
Dominic Grounsell, Entain’s CCO, acknowledged that a significant change was observed in the way sports fans engage with sports. Moreover, he acknowledged the positive impact of sporting docuseries that delivered an innovative way to engage with new and existing sports fans.
“We’ve seen a huge step change in the way fans engage with their favorite sports, and behind-the-scenes access in sporting docuseries has only heightened this further.“
Dominic Grounsell, CCO at Entain
Grounsell said that Entain monitors the way fans engage with the sport and at the same time, collects feedback from its customers, allowing it to create content that caters to their needs. “Coral’s ‘Taking the Reins’ documentary series is a prime example of this and reinforces our commitment to bringing moments of excitement to fans beyond the track, pitch, or court,” he said in conclusion.