Happy Dragon

What is Happy Dragon?

Bettors had plenty of momentum after favorites dominated Week 1, but Sunday (Sept. 20) tilted back in the sportsbooks’ favor behind a wave of upsets. Several heavily backed teams failed to win or cover the spread.

The biggest wins for Boyd were the Eagles failing to cover (24-20 over the Titans), the Saints winning outright as large underdogs (24-17 over the Ravens), and the Browns topping the Bucs (23-19). For bettors looking to recoup losses, the afternoon slate offered relief, with the 49ers handling the Dolphins (35-13), the Seahawks routing the Cardinals (31-7), and the Cowboys topping the Commanders (37-20).
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Christian Cipollini, senior trading manager at BetMGM, noted that heading into Sunday’s games, sportsbooks needed key underdog covers to offset a strong Week 1 for public bettors. Getting outcomes from the Browns, Saints, Titans, or Dolphins provided much-needed relief to the house.

About Happy Dragon

“At a break or at half time you see 10 to 20 [gambling] adverts,” he says. “It’s come to a point that oftentimes I even hear my kids singing [gambling adverts]. They’ll just keep asking, ‘But Daddy, what is this? What does this mean?’

“Our position is unequivocal. Betting is an adult activity. Operators must maintain effective age verification, marketing must not target or appeal to children and regulators; parents, schools and communities must reinforce the same message.”

As part of Africa Safer Gambling Week, the AiA has also focused on the illegal market, with Kesitilwe highlighting that offshore operators are harmful for player protection.

How to play Happy Dragon

Sportsbook operators have an inherent advantage over prediction markets in that the former can offer significantly larger sign-up and retention bonuses and gaming companies are leaning into those expenditures this football season.

Promotional spending is nice and has proven to be an effective customer acquisition tool, but both sportsbooks and prediction markets would do well to emphasize bespoke experiences for clients because they’re looking for customization.

“Twelve percent of respondents have switched platforms because another offered personalization aligned with their interests, while 9% said recommendations based on their interests would make them more likely to try a prediction market,” concludes Fullstory.