When legalized online sports betting began to spread across the U.S. after PASPA was overturned in 2018, operators aimed to get their apps up and running as quickly as possible in expanding states.
Now that the industry has grown to 38 operating markets, sportsbooks are pouring more resources into the products and user experience than ever before.
Key Takeaways
- Caesars Sportsbook launches NFL Flips, NFL Jackpot, and Live Quick Pick Parlays for the regular season.
- The online operator has also upgraded its app navigation and search feature, cash-out option, and universal digital wallet experience.
- Caesars promises “meaningful” promotions and a sign-up bonus to explore all markets.
At Caesars Entertainment, that ability has led to what the company believes is its best app to date, and heading into the 2025 NFL regular season, Caesars is launching new customer-based products and two-to-three times more betting markets for this year.
“Now we’re finally at this place where we’ve built a really wonderful foundation,” Kenneth Fuchs, senior vice president and chief operating officer at Caesars Digital, told Covers on Tuesday. “The reviews are excellent. Now we have a little bit of a luxury where we’re saying, ‘What is it that really moves the needle for what our customers want and creates a fun, easy, fast experience for them?’ Caesars has it in their DNA to serve customers at a very high level, an aspirational level.”
What the betting and entertainment company has found is a way to create competitions that go beyond just placing bets, similar to fantasy football. The start of the NFL season is a way to launch these products before more major sports collide this fall.
“A lot of the technology, product, and design focus over the last year has been revolutionizing those journeys, and adding a tremendous amount of market depth along the way,” Fuchs said. “I think Steve Jobs had the best phrase: ‘It’s very easy to make simple things difficult and hard to make difficult things simple.’”
Reveal your way to $100K
Just this week, Caesars launched a new weekly game, NFL Flips, which allows users to unlock daily reveals and compete in a free-to-play contest that offers a $100,000 prize pool. The game is currently available on the app and runs through Sunday.
“It’s just a very fun, kind of lightweight way to play,” Fuchs said. “It’s a little bit like a fantasy pick’em, but it’s more of a reveal and a lottery.”
NFL Flips has nine circles, and each day the customer can reveal one or two markets, like, “Will the Dolphins beat the Ravens outright?” or “Will Josh Allen throw for two or more touchdowns?”
The user can win bonus bets for getting a certain number of reveals correct. If they hit on all nine, they split $100,000 with others who accomplished the feat.
“It’s something we wanted to do for fun for our customers and to give back,” Fuchs said.
Hit the jackpot
Caesars isn’t stopping there. Heading into Thursday night’s opener between the Dallas Cowboys and the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, the online operator is adding a new feature called NFL Jackpot.
Customers can enter contests, like The 50 Burger, where betting into the progressive jackpot on a team scoring more than 50 points in an NFL game gives them a chance at a $50,000 prize pool. If it doesn’t happen this week, another $50,000 is added until the wagering game is complete, and the participants split the jackpot.
The sportsbook featured something similar during the MLB season for no-hitters, but this is the first time it’s incorporated the product into the incredibly popular NFL.
“We are Caesars. We have a DNA around casinos and big payoffs and people’s ability to win,” Fuchs said about the Las Vegas-based company. “We thought it would be fun to incorporate that concept into what we’re offering for sports betting. I think that’s a really fun way to build almost a collaboration or a community around something like this.”
Applying feedback
Caesars puts enormous resources each year into customer feedback and finding ways to enhance the experience.
“I think we’ve been great as an organization and a culture of being customer-centric and responsive to what we hear,” Fuchs said. That shows up in the results.”
One trend Caesars has found is the love for in-game wagering. Fuchs said more than 50% of the operator’s handle comes from live betting.
To meet those needs, Caesars is expanding its Quick Pick Parlays product, giving customers prebuilt multi-leg wagers they can get into their bet slips in a hurry during the action.
“We use our technology to say, ‘Hey, here’s a great combination that might be interesting based on where these players are at in their stats or where a team is at that point in the game, and then be able to put that bet down.’ We’ve been building on that product.”
Caesars will also continue to offer live-streaming of nationally televised NFL games, beginning Thursday night, allowing bettors to make quick plays as the action is happening on their app.
Enhanced experiences
Other improvements to NFL betting include an enhanced search ability and easy navigation in the Caesars app. The operator’s products help customers combine and track their same-game parlay bets better than ever before, including with head-to-head player stat markets.
Caesars continually upgrades its early cash-out option, making it faster for users to move from one wager to the next, whether it’s full-game bets, parlays, or player props. The universal digital wallet allows customers visiting Las Vegas to take their earnings back to their home state on their app and continue betting.
“For us, it’s delivering what our customers want, and if they’re having fun,” Fuchs said. “That determines whether we’ve been successful or not.”
Getting more
As for in-season promotions, Fuchs said there will be “more of everything,” with tailored rewards that are “meaningful for you at the right time.” Caesars will offer parlay escalators so users can receive profit boosts on each leg by betting more.
New customers can take advantage of a sign-up bonus that Fuchs says will give them the ability to truly explore different betting markets. After placing the first bet, users will be able to double their winnings on the next 20 bets.
“I encourage everybody to come check out our app,” Fuchs said. “It is as good as it’s ever been. To me, it’s the best app in the industry by far when you combine the accessibility and the products, user rewards. It has something for everybody, and it’s incredibly easy to use.”
