I’ve been running sports betting ads for a while, but honestly, for a long time I didn’t pay much attention to “funnels.” I thought they were just another marketing buzzword that big agencies loved to throw around. But after burning through way too much ad budget without seeing stable player sign-ups, I started wondering — maybe I was missing something.

At first, my whole focus was on getting clicks and conversions. I’d set up push ads, native ads, even tried a few influencer shoutouts, but the results were all over the place. Some campaigns looked good on paper, but when I checked actual deposits or retention, the numbers told a different story. That’s when someone in a private ad buyers group casually mentioned using a proper funnel for sports betting traffic. It sounded a bit complex at first, but curiosity got the better of me.

The struggle before the funnel

If you’ve run sports betting ads, you probably know the biggest headache — tons of curious traffic, very few real depositors. People click for bonuses or flashy offers but rarely stick around. I used to think it was just about targeting or ad copy, but even after improving those, the drop-off rate was insane.

I remember running a native campaign with what I thought was a killer angle — “Win your first bet free.” CTR was great, sign-ups okay, but only about 10% actually deposited. I couldn’t figure out what was going wrong until I realized I was treating every click the same way — sending them all straight to the registration page. No warm-up, no context, nothing that built trust or curiosity.

That’s when I started digging into how other marketers use funnels to move people gradually — from curiosity to confidence.

My first funnel experiment

So, I decided to build a simple funnel. Nothing fancy. Just three steps:

1. A short pre-lander that explained how sports betting odds work and highlighted the welcome bonus.

2. A mini quiz that asked things like “Which sport do you follow most?” — something fun to engage users.

3. Then the actual sign-up page for the betting platform.

It felt weird at first because it added extra steps, and I thought more steps meant fewer conversions. But the results completely surprised me. Instead of random sign-ups, I started getting players who actually made deposits and came back to bet again. My cost per acquisition dropped by nearly 30% after two weeks.

What changed wasn’t just the clicks — it was the quality of players coming through. The funnel filtered out the people who were just curious and kept the ones who were genuinely interested.

Why funnels make sense in sports betting

Here’s the thing — sports betting isn’t a one-click decision. It’s not like buying a T-shirt or subscribing to Netflix. People need reassurance before putting their money down. They want to know if the platform is trustworthy, if the bonus is legit, and if they can actually win something.

A good funnel builds that trust step by step. It doesn’t have to be super complicated either. Even a basic sequence like this can work:

• Ad → Educational pre-lander → Offer → Sign-up page
  Or

• Ad → Quiz/Survey → Tailored bonus → Registration page

It’s more about warming the audience than selling to them directly. I noticed that once people had interacted with even a simple quiz or content piece, they were way more likely to follow through.

What didn’t work

Not every experiment was a win, though. I once tried adding a video explainer in the funnel, thinking it would make it more engaging. But that actually hurt my conversions because it slowed down the page load time, especially on mobile traffic. Another time I used too much text on the pre-lander, and people just bounced.

What really worked best for me was keeping the message short and interactive — quizzes, polls, or quick guides. Basically, anything that kept the user moving toward the next step without feeling like they were being sold to.

What I’d suggest to anyone starting out

If you’re struggling to get consistent player deposits or your CPA feels too high, try mapping out a simple funnel instead of relying on direct traffic. Even a two-step setup can make a difference. The key is to test what kind of pre-lander resonates with your audience. Some people respond to guides, others to bonuses or predictions.

You don’t need to overthink it. Just start small, measure, tweak, and improve. There’s a pretty detailed breakdown here that explains how funnels can actually shape player behavior in betting campaigns — I found it really useful when setting up my own: use funnel strategy for player acquisition.

Final thought

Looking back, I wish I’d started experimenting with funnels earlier. It’s not some magic fix, but it helps you understand your audience better and spend smarter. The more I work with sports betting ads, the more I realize — it’s not about driving the most traffic; it’s about driving the right kind of traffic.

If you’ve been running direct-to-offer campaigns and feeling frustrated with the quality of sign-ups, a funnel might be exactly what you need.