In today's highly competitive gambling landscape, companies operating in the sports betting niche are facing increasing pressure to protect their margins while providing punters with attractive and seamless services. Profitability can decline for a variety of reasons, from poor data quality to inefficient trading practices. However, experts agree that more innovative use of information is transforming the industry.
Casino Market’s team has analysed the insights from Pragmatic Play, Abelson Sports, Bettormetrics, and Genius Sports Group’s specialists and prepared a comprehensive article to help operators achieve better results without alienating their audience.
Approaches to Margin Improvement with Data
Pragmatic Play Sport’s executive, Gareth Crook, explained that using official, high-integrity information is the first step towards protecting profitability. It reduces delays, improves in-event availability, and supports precise pricing, even for unpredictable sports. His team also uses models to compare closing with live odds, spotting behaviour patterns that could cause revenue loss. Liability-based cost adjustments, triggered by exposure and wager quality, are another effective measure.
Jeevan Jeyaratnam from Abelson Sports highlighted 3 main applications of data:
- detailed customer profiling;
- preventing bonus misuse;
- spotting multi-account activity.
He also mentioned the value of stake limits tailored to sport or bet type, and stressed the importance of knowing how prices compare with those across the wider industry.
Genius Sports Group’s representative, Thomas Holland, said the best trading strategies rely on detailed information and accuracy, as millions of market types and in-play wagers must be managed. Mr Holland highlighted the importance of automated tools that link real-time liability data with pricing, making odds sharper and more profitable.
The brand’s low-delay feeds and AI models keep betting open almost all the time, with 99% uptime in football, even during goals or VAR checks. On major events like the Premier League, this leads to more activity, higher turnover, and stronger customer loyalty.
Sabin Brook from Bettometrics emphasised the margin’s role in setting long-term profitability. He noted that pricing errors are common, so alternative methods must be in place to reduce exposure. Grouping gamblers into categories may affect stake permissions and the speed of acceptance. While this can increase profits, it can also limit business volume.
Smart Personalisation Without Retention Loss
According to Mr Jayaratnam, profiling large customer groups based on 3 or 4 static criteria is an ineffective approach that negatively affects the audience’s engagement. He believes that a more efficient strategy is to collect and analyse detailed data to build a multi-level segmentation of users. According to the expert, the best results are achieved when the margin rate is calculated not only based on the dynamics of a specific event or market situation, but also considering the customer's activity history.
Similarly, Mr Holland supports this approach. The company has developed a special algorithm called Edge to optimise pricing. This system automates the decision-making process, eliminating the need for manual adjustments entirely.
Mr Brook also believes that basic user profiling does not work in the long run. According to him, sportsbooks are still trying to minimise losses by imposing restrictions on certain categories of punters. However, the analysis typically relies on overly generalised metrics that apply to broad groups rather than specific bettors. This makes it challenging for operators to make informed judgments about real risks and the appropriateness of such measures.
Mr Crook emphasises that personalisation is only effective when based on accurate models of individual user behaviour. Pragmatic Play's proprietary platform enables operators to calculate potential profits and losses for each gambler. With these forecasts, sportsbooks can set limits correctly, determine margins, and impose restrictions on high-risk bettors.
Real-Time Control in Volatile Markets
Mr Holland considers automated algorithms to be a key factor in increasing margins. Manual trading can no longer keep up with the pace of today's iGaming environment, where millions of signals are received simultaneously.
The automation approach is at the heart of Genius Sports Group's Edge brand product.
This advanced solution is built on the following principles:
- reducing the operational workload for bookmakers;
- analysing hundreds of thousands of recurring patterns automatically;
- quickly identifying and reacting to key changes in the market or player behaviour.
Prices for each customer are calculated individually in real time, and reports on all transactions are automatically generated in parallel. Outdated algorithms cannot cope with such loads. For example, thanks to the growth in operational capacity, gamblers now have the opportunity to place an unlimited number of express bets on a single match.
Mr Brook emphasised that today it is not enough for sportsbooks to receive open data. Brands need to be able to process it quickly and anticipate market changes. There is still no strict rule to follow for certain prices. Until the vertical develops and implements industry-wide standards, it will be difficult to achieve maximum personalisation and high-quality response to behavioural reactions without delays.
Mr Crook noted that high volatility can be both a source of risk and an opportunity for sportsbooks. The key to success is a combination of data-driven automation and the human understanding of an experienced bettor.
Pragmatic Play’s platform uses official info and focuses on fast-cycle sports such as:
- tennis;
- snooker;
- darts.
This approach allows odds to be adjusted without delay and minimises analyst intervention even during betting spikes.
According to Mr Jayaratnam, high volatility can be a boon to gamblers, especially if they have received informal insights and are using them to circumvent the system. He believes that bookmakers should move away from conservative trading practices and focus on reducing latency and ensuring stability. This will increase the system's resilience, even in the case of unscrupulous activity by individual customers.
Strengths of Automation and AI
Bettometrics' expert predicted that AI will play a larger role in the wagering business, but only if backed by reliable and accessible data. For now, human oversight is essential for interpreting incomplete or complex scenarios.
Mr Crook added that automation has already significantly reduced the workload on sportsbooks. The main task of niche developers is to scale and create effective solutions. Nevertheless, the human factor remains critically important.
AI should be controlled in the following areas:
- prompt response to violations of fair betting principles;
- analysis of injuries sustained during matches;
- formation of a relevant information agenda for teams and fans;
- adjustment of the involvement level;
- risk behaviour management (stimulation or restraint if necessary).
Mr Jayaratnam noted that modern artificial intelligence technologies already allow for in-depth analytical research that was previously unavailable to humans. The introduction of new AI-based solutions will continue to contribute to an increase in bookmaker margins.
Mr Holland takes a similar position. In his opinion, AI can bring tangible benefits to sportsbooks at all stages, from generating program code to building behavioural models that consider the most likely scenario for upcoming events on the field.
At the same time, the factor of human perception and control remains essential. The market is gradually moving from a quantitative approach to a qualitative one. Whereas dozens of analysts were previously required, now one or two specialists capable of assessing the validity of AI-generated forecasts are sufficient.
The Main Things About Sportsbook Margin Optimisation in 2025
Protecting profitability requires a balanced strategy rather than a single solution. Sportsbooks can use a variety of approaches and tools to increase margins and maintain high player satisfaction.
The main takeaways from the industry experts include:
- reliable, official data is the starting point for better accuracy and higher availability;
- refined profiling and segmentation help target risk without harming service quality;
- automation and AI can deliver faster reactions and scalable margin control;
- real-time monitoring during volatile events is essential for protecting profits;
- human expertise remains a key factor in interpreting complex situations.
This mix of these strategies offers the best chance of maintaining healthy margins while keeping customers engaged.
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