iGaming Daily

Danny (00:00.54)
I'll just go straight into that. Hello and welcome to the iGaming Daily where today we're going to be running through the success of the recent world that, did not mean to do that.

could start. Hello and welcome to the iGaming Daily where today we're going to be running through the success of the recent World Darts Championship over the course of the past month. Today I'm joined by Jesse Sale, senior journalist for SBC News. How are you feeling after a few nights at Ali Pali last week Jesse?

Jessie (00:30.456)
Great, mean, honestly, I have got the Alli Palli flu, but it was worth every second. had a great time. So yeah, I'm feeling all right.

Danny (00:39.046)
Fantastic and we're also joined by Christian Lee, business journalist for Gambling TV. How are you Christian and how did you find the last few matches of the world?

Christian (00:49.141)
Yeah, I'm very good. Thank you, Danny. It was definitely an exciting end to the World Championship, I think. I thought the final was a little bit flat, but was because of how good Lutely was in the end. MVG couldn't really get close, but I think the best man won overall.

Danny (01:04.816)
Yeah I think the semi-finals and the final ended up being a bit of a white washing from Luke Littler but still an exciting tournament all in all but before we get into the podcast today we're going to be talking about Paddy Power sponsorship and the actual success of the tournament and the Bigger 180 campaign I'd just like to give thanks to our sponsors Optimove the number one CRM solution for the iGaming market. Now after last year's tournament it was always going to be a tough challenge to sort of

the success of bringing Luke Littler to the big stage for the first time and drawing a lot of attention to darts and the sport from sort of all ages and all demographics now. In terms of engagement and commercial success it was a huge year last year and obviously Paddy Power as the main sponsor of this event had a big task to make it even bigger and even better. Now I just sort of wanted to ask like as

I think all three of us managed to get down to Ali Pali at some point this year. What were some of the key ingredients that made the tournament so successful? Jesse, I'll come to you.

Jessie (02:12.046)
I think obviously the World Championships anyway, it's always brilliant in itself. They've got good sponsors, like good fans, great walk-ons, like the atmosphere is unbeatable. Obviously this year you've got like Luke Littler returning, so a lot of people were tuning in to watch him, a lot of people were rooting for him to win, which obviously he did go and win. As per my prediction in the last podcast, by the way, I did say he was gonna win.

And yeah, there's just obviously so much going on all the time. I think you also had people like there was like other fan favorites as well, like Rashad Sweetin from The Bahamas, like a lot of people hadn't heard of him and he'd come off and like everyone just loved him instantly. Like there's just so many different people that people just tune in to watch because it's just so brilliant and there's so much going on, there's so many characters.

I think they did really well with the build up to it, like the PDC and the sponsors did really good advertisements for it and social media posts just to get everyone really excited for it. Obviously over the past year the support has grown so much so that helped get the build up, the excitement to it all year round. And then finally the 180 campaign that Paddy Power did a really good job of, obviously not only it's an amazing cause, that also added to the excitement as well which we can touch upon later on.

Danny (03:25.22)
Yeah, I do think obviously Luke Littler, what he brought to the tournament last year has sort of been enhanced even more this year, particularly with him winning all the media coverage that he's had over the past year. And a nice little plug for your prediction there as well, Jesse. Certainly a few fan favourites turning up as well. I remember Leonard Gates got a lot of love online for the little dances he was doing on stage. That was lots of fun to watch. Yeah.

Jessie (03:47.264)
Yeah, was so cute. I love it.

Danny (03:51.696)
Yeah, it does seem like although last year was obviously so successful, such a big moment for Paddy Power with this sponsorship and for this event, it did seem to be capitalized on again this year and sort of been made bigger and better. So Christian, how else do you think that the tournament was made so successful this time round?

Christian (04:11.125)
As Jesse said about the sort of on stage action the players definitely delivered in terms of there's a couple of nine darters, the big finishes, the big personalised and stay as well and I think we'll talk about it later with the bigger 180 campaign but I think that really helped to add to the narrative because when

them nine darts were hit, obviously they hit the headlines anyway, but the fact that they were giving money to charity and also giving money to people in the crowd, that just helped create bigger headlines and keep that narrative going for longer, which helped to build up the sort of build up the atmosphere. And because they were hitting the other rounds as well, that got more eyes on it and then allowed people to see the darts and continue watching for the rest of the tournament.

Danny (04:55.324)
Definitely. And it was sort of touched on a bit in the last podcast we did before the Dart started in December. But Jesse, could you just explain what that bigger 180 campaign was from Paddy Power and sort of the nine Dart initiative that ran alongside it and sort of how that succeeded quite well at this event.

Jessie (05:11.062)
Yeah. So obviously last year they did it for the first time. They just give a grand to Prostate Cancer UK for every 180 hits, which is great. And they raised so much money last year. This year they did exactly the same, but added the fact that if someone hit a nine darter, they would give 180 grand. So they'd give 60 grand to the player, 60 grand to the charity, and then 60 grand to someone in the crowd as well, which was like a new thing, which was great, which obviously raised even more money.

So obviously when Christian kissed he hit the first nine daughter. They obviously give the money to the charity to the player but they also went like they got the camera didn't they and like panned like around the crowd which obviously is like I think that's so fun I think that not only like adds to the excitement in the Alley Pally but on the TV as well if you want to see like who's gonna win it and like the video after of the guy who actually won it like he just seemed really nice and everyone was really happy for him that he'd won it it just seemed like really genuine.

guy. I'm not sure how big of a darts fan he was, I'm not sure how long he'd been going for but yeah he just seemed like someone that deserved it but yeah so I just think that it was really good.

Danny (06:22.032)
Yeah, I do think it really...

Christian (06:22.061)
I it'll definitely be a huge darts fan now. Like I said, I it'll definitely be a huge darts fan now, after winning 60,000.

Jessie (06:24.91)
You are.

Jessie (06:29.157)
he will be now, yeah, he'll be back every year.

Danny (06:33.447)
Yeah I really think it did add a lot that sort of 9 Darts initiative to add that to their campaign that obviously was quite a big project last year and obviously a new thing for the tournament as well, like an added layer of engagement there. the fact that they've enhanced a part of Darts that's obviously such huge, such an exciting part of the game is that anticipation to see if someone's gonna hit one and to add that extra level of excitement for the fans in the crowd.

for the player themselves that wants some money from it. I think it was a great idea. It might be something that maybe sort of added to again next year if Paddy Power looked to enhance those sort of things further. Could you tell us...

Jessie (07:13.55)
I was gutted that we didn't see a nine dart alive. The only time I've ever even come close was at the Premier League when Gerwin Price hit one but I was in the toilet and I was so upset. I was really gutted.

Danny (07:25.468)
That's a nightmare. Must have heard the cheers from the toilet and been so disappointed. Christian, could you, I'm not sure I've got the exact figure, but could you tell us how much money was actually raised from this campaign and maybe how much that compared to last year's figures?

Jessie (07:29.678)
I did, I come and leg it out and see, right?

Christian (07:45.357)
So again, it hit over a million pound. I think it was 1 million and 27,000 pounds this year. And last year it was just sort of a million and Paddy Pined up sort of adding the last bit of money to get it to a million. So it just shows that I think they were definitely boosted by them 2.9 dollars, got them over the line to get over that seven figure sum. And again, I think it just sort of, as I said about...

in terms of it just creates more storylines around the world championships that Paddy Power can jump on the back of because it garners sort of more positive publicity for them and also the sport as well which will help everyone.

Danny (08:26.628)
Yeah, definitely. And in terms of other activations that Paddy Power brought to the tournament, there was a lot going on at Alexandra Palace. Paddy Power were really running the show down there. Jesse, could you give us an idea of what else Paddy Power had going on that we maybe didn't see on the telly to maybe excite fans that were actually there at the palace on the night?

Jessie (08:48.17)
Yeah, so obviously us three were lucky enough to actually go, which is great. I actually got to go four times, which is amazing. So yeah, I saw it all, which is they had like the the fan zone, which was really good. They had like beat the pro. So like people like queuing up to like beat like professional players like Chris Mason there. There's like a spinning dart board, bullseye challenge that really just got people like getting involved really. And me and you Danny actually ran

like we were running around on one of the stands for like 30 minutes, we're getting people to do a blindfolded bullseye challenge, which I think went down really well. Everyone seemed to have a laugh with that. We were putting like the paddy power underwear on people's heads so no one could see where they were throwing. Everyone was a bit useless, but it was, it was a lot of fun. So that got like the crowd involved outside of just, you know, watching the games. There was stuff to do like at the actual stadium. Also like in the hospitality bit, they had like Russ Bray in there.

like doing like nine dark challenges with people. was just everywhere you look, there's just like stuff going on really. And they did a lot, like Patti Pard did a lot on social media as well. They did like that Emma, that Emma Payton, like short, like short video, short film thing where she was like in a wedding dress and she was like marrying one of the fans, which was really funny. And yeah, just stuff like that. There was a lot online, which like built up the excitement and just showed people at home.

like what else is going on and what it's all about, like the fun atmosphere of it all.

Danny (10:20.924)
Yeah, there was definitely some great advertisements for going to the darts and why it is such a great night out to be out there and be all dressed up with your mates. Obviously a lot of drinking going on, but having all those fun stuff to do around there as well, I do think it did add an extra level of engagement. And you're right as well, Paddy Power do always seem to be quite on it with social media in terms of sketches and different campaigns that they've got going on to keep people excited about these.

these events and this event in particular as the main sponsor that's their priority to really build a bit of a buzz for a bit of excitement and I do think they did that quite well in lots of ways online and definitely in person it was lots of fun going around seeing how people were doing on that spinning dart board the other different challenges that were around the arena as well set up by different sponsors like Fireball and Target and Red Dragon stuff like that there was plenty going on and it was fun to see everyone having a good time it's one of the

the best things about the darts really, it's always such a great atmosphere, there's not too much.

Jessie (11:23.886)
I've still got my fireball tattoo stuck on by the way, it won't come off like those temporary tattoos, it's not coming off. I have showered, I promise.

Danny (11:32.092)
Well, that's prize that lasted a long time,

Jessie (11:37.582)
You

Danny (11:41.336)
Yeah, it was good to see lots going on and the Darts atmosphere is always lots of fun. There's never too much rivalry or tribalism going on. Like you sometimes get a football, it's just everyone wanting to have a good time. And there was, I suppose, some interesting matchups across the month as well that helped to build a bit of engagement, certainly in terms of the sort of the betting that Paddy Power would have had on the side of things as well. Christian,

not sure how much you know in terms of like we'll see sorry I'll rephrase that. Christian I'll come to you on this one so how successful do you think Paddy Power has been in sort of making this event successful for them as a bookmaker and like sort of becoming the official bookmaker for this event through this sponsorship that they have with the the PDC and the World Arts Championship.

Christian (12:34.315)
Yeah, I'd definitely say they've cemented themselves as the name you associate with the World Championships. And given the fact that this is the tournament of the year and the one that has the most eyes on it, you can argue they've sort of well positioned themselves to be seen as the official bookmaker of Darts. But I think as well, when you look at the rest of the Dying Calendar.

You can sort of argue that it is something that is of interest to a lot of different operators because you look at events like the Premier League They're sponsored by that sponsor by the MGM so there is room for a lot of different operators to take advantage of the growth of the sport and Consider it as a lucrative avenue for their market efforts

Danny (13:16.602)
Yeah, definitely. You've got the event down in Mayenhead, Players World Championship, that's sponsored by Ladbrokes as well. There's lots of different opportunities there for operators and obviously I do think maybe there is a bit of an urge for these operators to really push the boat out with these events and try to make the sport their own in some way. And I definitely think Pallipower put their own stamp on Darts.

in the past month with these different activations that they've had going on and you wonder whether it's been like quite a successful month for them as an operator. There's been a few upsets that happened across the tournament. I don't know if you could comment on any of them at all Christian if there's any sort of results that you thought were surprising or ones that would maybe go against the odds.

Christian (14:05.997)
Well, I think if you look at the first, sorry, the second round when the seeds came in, there was there's quite a few different seeds who went out early. Michael Smith got beat. James Wade was beat a few. I can't think of any other names that come to mind straight away. But if you look at the betting on that, if anyone did have money on on the underdogs and they would have made some decent got a decent return from them, so much is nothing.

That is the beauty of something like the World Championship that it's not just the top 32. Because it's so many different players who have the chance to win over the set format. There is opportunities there for upsets that operators can use their advantage but also punters can use their advantage as well if they can pick out the right ones.

Jessie (14:53.078)
Yeah exactly and with Luke Humphries going out a lot earlier than expected as well, everyone I spoke to, I did a interviews, like who do think is going to win? Every single person bar like one said Luke Humphries, so that was obviously a massive shock as well, which adds to the excitement of it because you just don't know what's going to happen.

Danny (15:13.5)
Definitely and I think one thing that sort of, mean Paddy Power would have been hoping to happen is obviously because of how important Luke Littler has been to the sport and its growth over the past year. The fact that he obviously made it all the way through to the final, won the whole thing, that would have been so important for that engagement that we were trying to build for the tournament, having him go all the way and be involved as much as possible but obviously unfortunately for them.

Paddy Power haven't really been able to use Luke Lutler in the marketing or any social media or anything like that because obviously he is underage so it's a bit of a shame for them in a way but it has built a buzz and excitement and I suppose now that we've had two World Arts Championships sponsored by Paddy Power at this point and it has obviously started off really well last year and been built on this time round I'm just sort of wondering how you maybe think

that PaddyPower could build on this success even further next time around, whether they might be an idea to enhance these sort of campaigns that they're doing or maybe push for other activations at the event. How do you sort of think PaddyPower can go about and try and make this even more successful next time around?

Christian (16:29.261)
think for me, sort of, it would be looking away from the Darts World Championships and look to the rest of the Dating Calendar because in terms of the World Championships, the only thing they can really do now is give away more money, which I'm sure they will be thinking about that in terms of the next public, like sort of publicity campaign, but unless there's one who can come in who's more famous than Luke Liddler, which I doubt there will be at this point.

In my opinion what they should be doing is looking at trying to sponsor a different tournament or different major such as something like the Grand Somme of darts So I get the name out there Across the year rather than just being something that is thought about over Christmas during the World Championships

Danny (17:13.244)
Yeah, I think that's definitely a good point looking at looking at other sort of events and other ways that they can sort of capitalize on the huge sort of impact they've had on darts already in this past couple of years could be great shout. Jesse, anything you'd like to add?

Jessie (17:26.626)
No, I think I agree, like throughout the year, may carry on just like with the darts content, like, yeah, just carry on doing what I'm doing. Obviously we think they'll maybe add to the bigger 180 campaign, maybe the even bigger 180 campaign. think that's successful. So probably carry on adding to that. But yeah, I agree with everything Christian said.

Danny (17:46.566)
Yeah do suppose that might be one thing that they can touch on next year in terms of how can they make it even bigger what else can they do to put more importance on them. It's Prostate Cancer UK the charity that it's donated to is that right? Yeah so how can they put a bit more emphasis on that raise more awareness and raise more money in that campaign will be something they'll be looking to do next year I'm sure.

Jessie (17:53.538)
Yeah.

Jessie (18:01.559)
Yeah, that's it.

Christian (18:02.187)
Yeah.

Jessie (18:08.578)
Mm-hmm.

Danny (18:15.356)
So suppose before we finish off we recently had the announcement for BetMGM's Premier League darts which comes up in the next couple of months and I suppose just before we round off I wanted to see if you had any comments on the lineup that was announced yesterday I believe we had Luke Humphries, Luke Littler, Michael Van Goorin, Rob Cross, Stephen Bunting, Nathan Aspinall, Gowin Price and Chris Doby.

Are you both happy with that line up? Anyone that you think should have been involved that has missed out?

Jessie (18:47.246)
I don't think so. I'm happy with that line up. I think everyone's in there deserves to be in there. Would you agree?

Christian (18:54.701)
Yeah, the only one I was a little bit surprised was Nathan Aspinall, just because I know he got to the quarterfinals maybe, but he did seem to be struggling a bit. He is someone who has battled their injuries, so I wasn't sure if he would decide to have a year at the Premier League to help the rest of his year, but that's why, again, he's a fan's favourite, so you can see why he's been put in there.

Jessie (19:01.1)
Yeah.

Jessie (19:11.33)
Mm.

Danny (19:18.214)
Yeah think Bet MGM will be quite happy to sort of have him in there, he's a player that does bring quite a few eyes in some ways with his, well I've heard a lot of people saying that might just be there because of his walk on because he's got Mr Brightside by the killers and that really gets the crowd going so they'll be happy with him being there I'm sure. No love for Peter Wright.

Jessie (19:33.646)
Thank you.

Jessie (19:44.065)
you cut off.

like.

Danny (19:58.373)
Alright, think my microphone unplugged or something. Yeah, I was just saying, erm... No love for Peter Wright to be in there at all, no? Or, erm... Who else has just missed out? Dave Chisnell?

Christian (20:07.501)
I just don't think he's done enough throughout the year. Again, don't think either right or chiseled have done enough so I've over this year to justify them being back in the Premier League again.

Jessie (20:18.956)
Yeah, no, you're right. I think they've got it bang on, to be honest. And happy Stephen Pluntin's in there. Obviously that'll get a lot of people watching as well because he's got so many fans. It's ridiculous. So yeah, really pleased.

Danny (20:31.397)
Yeah, he's certainly a fan favourite, he?

Christian (20:31.967)
I think that was a shooting really.

Danny (20:36.025)
Okay, so thanks for joining us today then, both of you. It's been a great tournament to watch, lots of enjoyment over the Christmas period and New Year's. It really does become like quite a focus for a lot of people up and down the country, the Darts. So it's been nice to talk over and give a bit of a review to what's clearly been a good year for Paddy Power in terms of their sponsorship for the World Darts Championship. And through everyone listening at home, thank you very much and we'll see you on the next episode of the iGaming Daily.

Jessie (21:07.01)
Thank you.