Client Overview

Ladbrokes partnered with BidWave.Media to scale mobile user acquisition and drive real-money player growth. Facing stiff competition and rising CPAs, they sought a smarter, performance-led solution. Our data-driven mobile strategy delivered high-converting traffic, reduced acquisition costs, and helped Ladbrokes engage new bettors in key markets with precision and efficiency.

Challenge

• Highly competitive online betting market with aggressive rivals drove up advertising costs for new player acquisition.

• Rising customer acquisition costs (CPAs) in digital channels made it difficult to maintain strong ROI on marketing spend.

• Ad saturation and creative fatigue on mainstream platforms (social, search) led to declining engagement rates among target audiences.

• Converting mobile traffic into depositing players was challenging – many users showed interest but dropped off before registration or first deposit (low conversion despite high interest)

Our Approach

• Precision Mobile Targeting: Focused on in-app and mobile web ad placements (e.g. sports news apps, casino gaming sites) to reach high-intent bettors on their smartphones at the moments they’re most engaged.

• Engaging Creative Formats: Deployed rich media and video ads featuring dynamic content like live odds and limited-time bonus offers to capture attention.

• Data-Driven Optimization: Leveraged real-time analytics to continually refine the campaign – adjusting bids, budgets, and targeting based on performance. Daily optimizations (A/B testing creatives, tweaking audience segments) ensured ads were served to the right users at the right time for maximum conversions.

• Personalized Segmentation: Utilized data insights to segment the audience by betting interests and behaviors . Each segment saw tailored ad messaging and creatives aligned to their interests, boosting relevance and click-through rates

Results

• Conversion Rate Doubled: The campaign achieved over a 100% increase in new player sign-up conversion rate – effectively doubling the baseline conversion of prospects into customers.

• Surge in Registrations & Deposits: BidWave.Media delivered a record influx of new Ladbrokes registrations, with a high percentage of these sign-ups converting into first-time depositors. This quality of acquisition directly translated to increased deposits and betting revenue.

• Efficiency & ROI Gains: Through optimization, cost per acquisition dropped by roughly 30%, allowing more players to be acquired for the same budget. The campaign also achieved an excellent return on ad spend – exceeding a 2:1 ROAS (over 200% return), far higher than prior campaigns

Key Takeaways

BidWave.Media’s mobile-first strategy delivered exceptional results for Ladbrokes. By combining targeted placements, data-driven optimization, and tailored creatives, we doubled conversion rates, reduced acquisition costs by 30%, and significantly increased first-time deposits. The campaign proved that precision mobile advertising can drive scalable, high-quality growth in the iGaming sector.