Player props have gone from novelty to core product in a few seasons. Growth has come through integration into Betbuilders, where a customer can combine a striker's shots, a midfielder's passes and a full-back's fouls in a single bet.
Most of that turnover still comes before kick-off. A typical operator might see only around 15-20% of its player props and Betbuilder turnover in-play, against roughly half for main markets. On that measure alone, in-play props might appear as a lower priority. But their value goes well beyond the bets placed after kick-off.
The pre-match bet continues in-play
Customers follow a pre-match Betbuilder most closely once the match has started. A live cash-out value is now a standard part of what customers in mature markets like the UK expect from a tier-one sportsbook. Many will check it repeatedly during a match without ever taking it. Across the Betbuilders we price, in-play price requests can outnumber pre-match requests by multiples, even though a far smaller share of turnover is placed in-play. For many customers, checking the cash-out value is how they follow their bet.
To show a cash-out value on a Betbuilder, every leg needs a live price. If one player's shots market isn't priced in-play, there’ll be no cash-out and the customer who backed four players before the match has nothing to follow.
For betting operators, even an error rate below 0.01% creates havoc
Customers also need live stats. On the My Bets tab, they expect to see how close each leg is to landing, such as a bar showing two of the three shots their player needs.
Plenty of operators now have a well-developed pre-match Betbuilder. If that coverage doesn't continue in-play, with a cash-out value and live stats on every leg, customers will leave to a sportsbook that does.
Why in-play is harder to deliver
Pre-match player markets are hard enough: thousands of markets per match can't be settled on time without an expensive live feed of player stats. In-play is far more complex. You cannot plug into a feed of liquid markets to guide your pricing.
All players need to be modelled according to how they are likely to perform given game and match state. A team chasing a goal shoots more and gives away more fouls, but not evenly distributed across all players and not always relative to their expected totals. One substitution can change the outlook for several player markets and how they relate to other legs in a Betbuilder.
Data accuracy is a second problem. Whether a deflected effort counts as a shot on target, or a challenge as a tackle, is a judgement call, and providers regularly disagree. Their analysts also credit shots and fouls to the wrong player or fail to record them at all until they are added minutes later, whether through subjective judgement or simply not seeing the incident.
If the primary audience for your data is the media or sports clubs, that's perfectly acceptable. For betting operators, even an error rate below 0.01% creates havoc, which is why we believe player markets need data collected specifically for sportsbooks, rather than for broadcasters or for club coaching and recruitment staff.
How operators can stay ahead
First, treat pre-match and in-play props as part of the same product. Every market offered in a pre-match Betbuilder should ideally be priced and fully combinable in-play too, so cash-out stays available on the whole bet, with live stats behind each leg.
A typical operator might see only around 15-20% of its player props and Betbuilder turnover in-play
Second, make sure promotional features continue into the match. Super Sub on player props and early payout offers such as 2Up on match results should still be offered and combinable in-play, wherever the mechanics allow.
Third, offer pre-built multiples in-play. Customers watching a match want to get a bet on quickly, without being pulled away from the action to build one. A short set of ready-made combinations, chosen for their relevance to what is happening in the match, is far easier to use than a long list of markets to scroll through.
Finally, make cash-out the priority for uptime. Customers will accept a market being suspended for new bets. What frustrates them far more is not being able to cash out a bet they already hold. Operators who survey their customers tell us the same thing again and again, so the aim should be to keep cash-out open for as much of the match as possible.
Keeping pace
So, is the industry's in-play offering keeping pace? For most operators, not yet. The first phase of the props boom was won before kick-off: on how many markets an operator could offer. The next will be won during the match, because that is where most player bets are actually followed.
All operators would like a better mix of higher-margin combination favouring customers, and the competition to win them is intense. With a standard Betbuilder, an operator is fishing in the same pool as everyone else. With a price, live stats and cash-out on every leg through to the final whistle, it is one of only a handful that can give these customers what they want. In most markets, that's a much less competitive place to be.