I will soon be implementing “Deep Links” in and around the OddAlerts product. These are direct and contextual links to bookmakers websites, taking you directly where you need to go. For example, when viewing Premier League xG Stats, the available deep links will take you directly to the Premier League fixtures on 1xBet and Bet365. Other bookmakers will be added in time.
The Problem
This level of convenience is something I have wanted to have on OddAlerts since launch, but ran into a few stumbling blocks. Those of you who were early to try OddAlerts will remember direct links to bookmaker websites from inside your alerts. The issue with these links is that they were not contextual, they would simply open up the website of your chosen bookmaker and (in many cases) did not trigger the app to open.
In order to add more context and convenience, I later tried to mimic the Bet365 search execution, and would link users directly to a search result page on Bet365. If your alert was for “Blackpool v Cardiff”, then I would create a link that should open up a search result on Bet365 for the term “Blackpool”. This was a rough workaround that ultimately fell short as Bet365 later changed the way the search worked. It no longer looked for the search term inside the URL.
Some bookmakers do have consistent URL structures for their content, but the majority do not. This makes it very difficult to dynamically link to the right place despite all the data available at OddAlerts. Here’s an example of the URL structure for the Premier League on Bet365:
https://www.bet365.com/#/AC/B1/C1/D1002/E61683472/G40/P1/
As someone who is looking to automate and dynamically generate a link to their content, it’s simply impossible to predict the URL without knowing the internal naming conventions and URL structure of Bet365.
The Solution
I primarily use Bet365, so they were by first port of call when trying to tackle this problem. I opened up an old email thread with a contact at the company and asked about the possibility of deep linking to their content. They told me that it was possible as part of their partner program.
This created a new dilemma, as the experience of bookmaker affiliates (primarily those on Twitter) leaves a poor taste in the mouth. I didn’t want that for OddAlerts and had never planned to generate revenue through affiliate accounts. The more I thought about it, I saw that I had two options: I could forget trying to save users time, or work with the bookmakers to offer deep links to their content. I decided on the latter, and have also implemented the ability to turn this off in your settings.
An example of how this feature will work would be an availability alert. If you have set alerts for when card markets become available on Bet365, then as soon as that alert comes through, you can click the link to go directly to the league. This is all about the convenience and in this context, the user on OddAlerts has already stated the desire to know when this game is available on Bet365. Bookmakers that offer reliable URL patterns for their fixtures and leagues will also be implemented so that you can open up your app with a single click.
Written by Joe (Founder @ OddAlerts)