SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Handball has become a major growth sport for LeoVegas, particularly around major international tournaments such as the sport’s ongoing men’s World Championship.
The tournament, which runs in Germany and Denmark until 27 January, holds huge appeal for punters in LeoVegas’ core markets, particularly while Germany and the Nordics – including Denmark, Norway and Sweden – remain among the favourites for glory.
Bjorn Knaldre, Sports Manager at LeoVegas, said: “Especially when some of our core markets are doing so well, the hype is reflected in our numbers for betting on handball, already reaching all-time-highs (ATHs) we expect to surpass as the Championship carries on.”
LeoVegas has reacted to the activity spikes provided by the sport’s biggest tournaments – the Women’s European Championships and DKB Handball-Bundesliga both produced a string of ATHs for the operator – by increasing its coverage through Kambi markets.
For example, LeoVegas has seen considerable interest in the ‘next team to score’ market – a live betting offer exclusive to the Kambi platform – and ‘over/under player goals’, a pre-match market only available on “very few” bookmakers.
Max Meltzer, Kambi Chief Commercial Officer, said: “Kambi has provided a market-leading handball offering for many years and we continue to iterate and improve the product to ensure we meet the expectations of LeoVegas’ mobile-savvy bettors, which are increasingly trending towards in-play and player-related markets.”
Knaldre added: “The activity always sees a significant spike during international tournaments with national teams playing and games broadcasted back in the home countries. Live betting on handball is quickly growing as a betting market, especially through mobile devices, as customers enjoy the fast-paced, action-packed nature of the sport.”
To further promote the sport, LeoVegas has also elected three-time Olympic athlete and silver medal winner Stefan Kretzschmar as its ambassador for handball in Germany.
