It\u2019s a word, or abbreviation, or both, that will have many people rolling their eyes when they hear it while others\u2019 light up with excitement \u2013 can you guess what it is yet?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This word is AI, of course! While many may be sick of hearing about it, of the many technological innovations bookmakers have dealt with in recent years, it\u2019s hard to deny that AI is easily one of the biggest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For marketers, AI has been both a blessing and a curse, depending on how one interprets its impact on search and discovery. A recent study by marketing firm Receptional <\/strong>has shone a light on how significant this change has been, looking at why some brands are ranked higher on AI chatbots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ChatGPT<\/strong> is becoming increasingly popular as a search engine among consumers. Despite this, Receptional\u2019s Managing Director, Justin Deaville<\/strong>, believes AI optimisation has been \u201cbarely on the radar yet\u201d, though this is changing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen I present this research at industry conferences, I ask the room who\u2019s actively working on AI optimisation. A handful of hands go up \u2013 maybe 5% of the audience,\u201d he tells SBC News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s changing fast though. Until recently, iGaming queries didn\u2019t trigger AI Overviews in Google. Now they do. Search \u2018what\u2019s the best betting app?\u2019 and you\u2019ll see one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe prevalence will only increase. But right now, most operators are focused on traditional channels. Which creates an opportunity for early movers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The bookies league table<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n SEO is dead, long live SEO \u2013 this may sound a tad overdramatic, but the evolution of SEO into AI engine optimisation (AIEO) and generative engine optimisation (GEO) has become very apparent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, what does Receptional\u2019s research tell us about how different British operators are performing on AI? Which bookies would our future robot overlords most likely use to put their Saturday acca on?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The company ranked operators into four separate tiers: the leading brands winning the AI recommendation war; the \u2018established middle\u2019 of strong performers, which need to close the gap; the \u2018emerging tier\u2019 of underperforming big names; and the \u2018opportunity tier\u2019 of companies, which are \u2018escaping invisibility\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking at the top tier, some names are hardly a surprise. bet365<\/strong>, Coral <\/strong>and Betfair <\/strong>all found their way onto the list \u2013 heritage brands which have been knocking around the online betting scene for years, while Coral has a retail pedigree going back nearly a century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some relative newcomers also found their way into the AI premier league. Dabble<\/strong>, founded in 2020, earned a spot through interactive features and bonusing, and while not mentioned by Receptional, the firm\u2019s approach to marketing and social media engagement with gen Z and millennial punters has helped it build up a following.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Things get interesting when we look through the list. Some of the brands across the different tiers are part of the same parent companies, so to speak such as Entain <\/strong>and Flutter<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Coral is in the premier league, so to speak, Ladbrokes <\/strong>is in the metaphorical League One of the \u2018big names underperforming\u2019. I found this noteworthy because Ladbrokes and Coral have been merged since 2016 as Ladbrokes Coral, and since 2017 have been owned by Entain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Similarly, Flutter\u2019s Betfair <\/strong>is competing in the Premier League, while its sister brand Paddy Power<\/strong> \u2013 like Ladbrokes and Coral, Paddy Power and Betfair are a merged entity \u2013 is also in league one. Meanwhile, Flutter\u2019s bingo brand, Tombola, which is also easily the UK\u2019s biggest online bingo brand, is in the premier league of AI search.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even more surprisingly, Sky Bet is also in the third tier of AI search. Sky Bet is widely considered one of the biggest brands in British international betting and with a business model that many American firms have tried and failed to copy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The reasons behind these different rankings are varied. A possible answer could be that, as different brands were acquired by their respective parent companies at different times, there could be legacy issues. Another could be that best practices and technology have not been shared across group brands to the extent we\u2019d expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, according to Deaville, the answer is, \u201cneither, really\u201d. He adds: \u201cEven if all your brands follow SEO best practice perfectly, that\u2019s not enough for AI visibility. You can have world-class SEO and still get ignored by ChatGPT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAI rewards clear brand differentiation. Technical optimisation matters \u2013 but it\u2019s also about whether AI can articulate what makes you different. Take Tombola. They score 87% because AI sees them as \u2018Britain\u2019s largest bingo site\u2019. Clear specialist positioning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTwo brands in the same group might have identical SEO foundations, but if one has sharper differentiation, it\u2019ll outperform in AI recommendations. This is a return to old-school brand marketing \u2013 points of difference matter again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is ChatGPT a chance for the underdogs?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The landscape operators find themselves competing in, changing significantly, and not even with regards to AI and technology. This year, Britain will usher in a new era of taxation with online gaming taxes going up to 40%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is widely expected to have a huge impact on the small-to-medium sized tranche of operators, though the big names of bet365, Betfred, Entain, Flutter Entertainment and Evoke will still be hard hit \u2013 the latter is already going through a strategic review of its business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the financial situation for these smaller firms may look bleak, is AI giving them a chance to deal a blow to the big dogs and win the customer acquisition game? Receptional\u2019s report would suggest so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A notable example of a cheeky upstart performing well in the AI league is Dabble. The Australia-founded sportsbook launched in the UK in May 2025, and has caught millennial and gen Z customers\u2019 attention with its approach to marketing, promotions and product design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The firm features in Receptional\u2019s premier league (as I\u2019m putting it) of operator AI search with a score of 86%, with strengthen\u2019s listed as innovative social and interactive features, a no-deposit bonus, and its \u2018Rocket Boosts\u2019 promotions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDabble\u2019s a perfect example. They\u2019re a newcomer but score 86% \u2013 higher than William Hill at 81%,\u201d says Deaville. \u201cWhy? Clear differentiation. App-focused. Social betting features. Rocket Boosts. AI can grab hold of these and articulate them clearly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHeritage brands might have bigger marketing budgets, but if they can\u2019t answer \u2018what makes us different?\u2019 in one sentence, neither can AI. The playing field\u2019s been reset. Market share and advertising budgets don\u2019t guarantee AI visibility. Clarity does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor newcomers with tight positioning, this is the biggest organic acquisition opportunity in more than a decade. But only if they can measure what\u2019s happening (most can\u2019t track AI traffic properly yet) and systematically build the authority signals AI looks for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re helping a few operators get this right through readiness reviews \u2013 measurement setup, visibility assessment, and a 90-day roadmap of what to prioritise. The brands moving now will have a significant first-mover advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Something to remember with AI though is the importance of prompts \u2013 this is true of both operators and customers. As Deaville explains, operators need to consider how they describe and market themselves and their products in a way that will register with AI search.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is also important to remember though, an operators\u2019 AI approach is only as good as the customer is at writing prompts. A simple change in language can lead to very different results when using ChatGPT to search for good betting options, in this writer\u2019s experience anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Below you\u2019ll see two examples: one in which asking ChatGPT about what bookmaker to use prompted recommendations for bet365, Betfred, BoyleSports and SBK; while another prompted a response that ChatGPT \u201ccan\u2019t recommend or direct you to specific betting sites or services\u201d, and instead making recommendations for what to consider in the right bookmaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This highlights the need for specifics when using AI. Older brands need to be more aware of this than anyone else. The time for complacency is over \u2013 the goalposts have shifted significantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n AI has not undone all the hard work operators and their marketers have put into building brand image over the past 20 years, nor the work put into building up familiarity through retail estates and quality products. But it has made it harder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Receptional\u2019s Deaville puts it: \u201cLegacy brands sometimes assume their audience already knows what makes them special, so those differentiators aren\u2019t prominently featured on the website. AI doesn\u2019t have that context. It needs to be told explicitly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n