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On November 16, a boxing match between the legendary Mike Tyson and blogger Jake Paul took place. The 58-year-old Tyson lost to the 27-year-old Paul by the judges’ decision. The fight turned out to be quite boring and disappointed many boxing fans – the audience expected fierce fights and hard knockouts.
This event had a significant impact on the betting and gambling industry, so today we will tell you how exactly.
It all started on March 7, 2024, when Jake launched an innocent trash talk. But it all ended with an unexpected and sharp blow from Mike during the weigh-in on the eve of the fight.
Marketers did not miss a single opportunity to promote this fight. Meanwhile, betting platforms, arbitrage specialists, and SEOs were literally churning out creatives and texts. Let’s take a closer look at how they motivated people to place bets. By the way, even Polymarket was available for betting: 61% supported Jake, 32% were on Mike’s side, and 9% were on the draw.
Let’s start with the methods that were actively used by arbitrage specialists. For example, they massively “abused” SEO on Telegram to attract first deposits. In the search, you could find bots that led to Telegram channels with forecasts, links to broadcasts, or bonuses for the first registration with a promo code.
It’s interesting that the number of people who have used such bots is really impressive.
Classic banners were not left out either: they were mostly created in the usual style.
YouTube channels tried to grab a piece of the hype by constantly posting forecasts, reviews, and breaking news and adding betting links right in the comments.
In general, there was nothing fundamentally new: trash talk, banners, forecasts, Telegram bots. This is a standard set for betting on high-profile events, and it worked with a bang this time.
On November 29, 2020, boxing fans were waiting with high hopes for the meeting of two legends – Mike Tyson and Roy Jones. However, their fight left a bitter aftertaste for many. Despite the dynamics and tension, the judges declared a draw, which shocked most bettors. Only 7% of bets were on this outcome, and the odds were 12.5. As a result, 93% of players who bet on the victory of one of the boxers lost money. Even then, it became clear that fights under the new rules (8 rounds instead of 12) with unexpected stars were more of a well-organized show than a classic sport.
The Tyson vs. Paul fight was even more disappointing. Experts favored Paul (60%), but fans still expected something more from Tyson. It is worth looking at the fans’ reactions, and it becomes obvious that expectations were overstated.
So, although fights of this format attract attention and provide boxers with impressive fees (Tyson earned 20 million, Paul – 40 million), interest in them is beginning to fade, because viewers remain dissatisfied.
However, such events are much more successful for gambling. Let’s take a closer look at it.
Sports events often leave a mark on the gambling world, and this case is no exception. For example, providers Jogo Global and Radar Zero decided to celebrate an important event in the world of boxing by releasing a crash slot with Mike Tyson himself: Mike Tyson’s Crash.
Tyson himself commented on the slot as follows:
“I’ve fought many opponents in the ring, but to be part of a game like this is a whole new experience.”
Whether this slot will become a long-term hit is an open question. However, it is a great opportunity for providers to make a name for themselves and draw attention to an event of this scale.
Events are a powerful traffic driver in betting. But they can also be an impetus for the growth of gambling providers. This fight, although it might have disappointed boxing fans, showed an important trend: the future belongs to influencers, even if they challenge the legends of the past.