Sportsbook technology provider Altenar highlighted a shift in bettor behaviour, with a new generation driving demand for more personalised, seamless, and entertainment-driven experiences, during discussions at NEXT Summit New York.
Matthew Ferrara, the company’s North America sales manager, participated in a panel alongside representatives from Fanatics and Stokastic, where speakers pointed to a shift toward mobile-first, on-demand betting behaviour.
Betting is increasingly embedded within a broader digital entertainment ecosystem, where users engage socially through group chats, react to live events, and consume content alongside wagering activity.
This shift means sportsbooks are no longer just transactional platforms but part of a wider user experience shaped by real-time interaction and community engagement.
Speakers also noted that user expectations are increasingly set by digital products outside the betting sector, with speed, simplicity, and seamless user experience now considered baseline requirements rather than differentiators. Any friction, particularly during peak betting moments, can directly affect user retention.
Ferrara also highlighted challenges around product design, particularly the way betting markets are presented to users.
“If you go to a sportsbook and there are 3,000 options, for the recreational user it can be quite intimidating,” he said.
He added that the issue is less about the number of available markets and more about relevance and structure, as users accustomed to personalised digital platforms expect similar experiences in sports betting.
“Everything’s catered to us based on our interactions. Sports betting should be no different,” Ferrara said.
Altenar’s product strategy is focused on improving content relevance, reducing the need for manual search, and creating more intuitive interfaces tailored to user behaviour.
The company is also aligning its development approach with broader digital trends across sectors such as social media, e-commerce and artificial intelligence.
“We look at the broader digital landscape and ask: what do users expect today, how are products evolving across social media, ecommerce, AI and everyday digital applications – and how do we bring those standards into the sportsbook experience,” he said.
The discussion concluded that sportsbooks must adapt to evolving user expectations, with a focus on reducing friction, improving relevance, and integrating more closely with how users interact with digital content.
