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.

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This year’s Bourne Free festival was attended by Dr Reece Bush-Evans from Bournemouth University as well as partner charities, the Gordon Moody Association and Ygam. At the festival, Dr Bush-Evans sought to determine the impact of gambling on LGBTQ+ communities as a part of a new research. Ultimately, the new study seeks to find potential reasons why representatives from such communities may engage in gambling activities.

Early findings of the new research uncovered some LGBTQ+ individuals can turn to gambling as a coping mechanism, while others may engage in such activities as a way to “mask their sexuality.” Moreover, early results confirmed that some LGBTQ+ people would rather engage in online gambling activities. The research explained that those people would prefer the online counterpart as physical gambling locations can be intimidating for them. At the same time, some LGBTQ+ people admitted that gambling treatment and support services may not be able to match their specific requirements.

In that line of thought, Ygam recently released the results of a study together with Dr Bush-Evans and Bournemouth University’s Gambling Research Group, uncovering that LGBTQ+ people are “statistically significantly more likely” to experience problem gambling and gambling-related harm. The study flagged that 71% of the interviewed LGBTQ+ adults admitted that they have experienced some form of discrimination or harassment in their life. As a result, gambling was identified as one method for coping with such challenges, making some LGBTQ+ people more vulnerable to gambling addiction and harm.

Research into the Impact of Gambling Continues

In light of the latest research by Dr Bush-Evans, Samantha Maskell, Gordon Moody’s recruitment and learning and development manager, explained that the charity continues to collaborate with Bournemouth University in an effort to better understand the needs of different communities. “We have recently been working with Bournemouth University and with Reece to understand and reach out to different communities, to build a research pack to find out what additional support can be needed and how we can adapt and build on out current programs,” she said.

“Gambling is enjoyed by many, very safely. However, there is a significant minority of individuals, particularly within the LGBTQ+ community, who might be exposed to gambling harms.“

Dr Reece Bush-Evans, member of the Gambling Research Group at Bournemouth University

Dr Bush-Evans said that there are plenty of people that enjoy gambling safely. However, he explained that some LGBTQ+ people may be impacted by gambling harm, which is a primary reason for the new research that seeks to examine their experience with gambling and identify effective support strategies.

According to Dr Bush-Evans, “life stressors” such as discrimination, social isolation and harassment can serve as triggers to push some LGBTQ+ individuals to gambling. The research is still ongoing. The results from the completed study are expected to be published later this year.

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Germany continues to be plagued by illegal gambling operators, resulting in lower revenues from the licensed gaming verticals. This is a serious problem that the European country has been struggling for a while with.

According to the German Sports Betting Association (Deutsche Sportwettenverband/DSWV), legal sports betting declined in 2022 in spite of the FIFA World Cup which bolstered operators’ revenues in other markets. On the contrary, German companies saw revenues plummet, causing serious concerns for the future of legal gambling in the country.

German sportsbooks earned $8.7 billion (converted from Euro, current rates) in 2022, which represents a 13% year-on-year decline from the $10 billion it earned the prior year. State revenues from sports betting tax also declined correspondingly to around $460 million.

Tight Regulations Are to Blame, the DSWV Says

The DSWV attributed the suboptimal results to Germany being knocked out of the World Cup in the early stages and the repressive market regulations. In its efforts to protect customers from gambling harm, Germany has created a rule set that makes it hard for operators to remain sustainable.

In addition, the regulations have channeled some players toward the black market. According to the DSWV, the regulations are not helping people save money. Instead, people are gambling the same amounts elsewhere. This is confirmed by recent studies that show a steep 65% rise in illegal gambling activity.

Another problem is that the legal German market is not known for its diverse products. While it offers quite a few sports betting sites, most of them offer a limited types of markets. In addition, customers do not have much choice when it comes to slots, poker and online casino games either.

Mathias Dahms, president of the DSWV, said:

For most customers, whether a provider has a permit from Germany is secondary. They are looking for the most comprehensive offer, the best odds, uncomplicated payment processes and interesting bonuses. That’s where the legal offers have a hard time.

Mathias Dahms, president, DSWV

Ads Aren’t So Bad, the Union Argues

Another thing that prevents the legal market from being successful is Germany’s strict restrictions on gambling advertisements. Gambling ads are one of the hot topics of the global regulated gambling industry, as many regions are seeking to protect non-gamblers from being bombarded with gambling content.

However, restricting ads has an adverse effect when it comes to existing gamblers, who have no qualms about picking an illegal operator, despite the related risks.

The DSWV noted that many people falsely assume that more ads equal more gamblers. However, certain markets such as the UK and Denmark have proven this notion to be wrong.

Luka Andric, CEO of the DSWV, also commented on the matter. He said that advertising is useful for telling people which sites are legal and provide player protections. Andric highlighted the importance of advertising in a responsible way and preventing self-excluded people from receiving ads.

The DSWV hopes that Germany will be able to strike a balance between protecting its customers and preventing the black market from reigning supreme.

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