Incline.bet

Deposit intent peaks sharply around live match windows, but the operator had no channel that could automatically surge media weight into those moments. Four problems compounded the miss:

• Mainstream exclusion: Google, Meta, and TikTok block the crypto sportsbook category outright across all three target regions.
• No match-window bidding: fixed media plans couldn't concentrate spend during the hours around Tier-1 fixture announcements and kickoff windows.
• Audience imprecision: broad sports-interest demographics attracted content viewers, not bettor-intent wallets, producing clicks without deposits.
• Creative mismatch: a single translated creative failed to reflect sport preferences across three distinct regions, reducing relevance and conversion in each market.

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No existing channel could combine wallet-level bettor intent with match-calendar bid timing, leaving the operator at a $430 CPA its deposit economics couldn't sustain. Blockchain-Ads addressed all four gaps:

• Bettor-intent targeting: sports-betting-active wallet segments built from on-chain sportsbook history, stacked with an exchange-depositor lookalike layer filtering for wallets with demonstrated fiat-to-crypto conversion behaviour.
• Match-window bidding: automated bid cap lifts of 40–70% around weekly Tier-1 fixture windows, concentrating spend precisely when deposit intent peaked.
• Blocked-market inventory: the only viable paid acquisition surface across three regions where the category is excluded from Google, Meta, and TikTok.
• Geo-by-sport creative routing: three independent creative libraries built natively for SEA football, SSA football and cricket, and LATAM football and esports, plus connect-cohort retargeting converting non-depositors at 2.4x the cold prospecting rate.

• ‍$228 CPA per FTD (47% reduction from Phase 1) ‍
• 938 First-Time Depositors across SEA, LATAM, Sub-Saharan Africa ‍
• 22.9M Verified Impressions; CTR: 0.65%; CPC at scale: $1.44 ‍
• 2.6x ROAS (90 days)

Blockchain-Ads cohorts delivered a 48% 30-day repeat-bet rate, confirming sports-betting-active targeting reached multi-session bettors, not one-time visitors. Connect-cohort retargeting added a second-activation layer, converting initial non-depositors at 2.4x the cold prospecting rate. The campaign established a scalable acquisition channel across three mainstream-blocked markets, with a match-window bid-surging mechanic validated across three major tournament events.

‍Objective: Establish baseline FTD CPA across the three regions; identify the highest-converting wallet segments and the creative formats that drive click-to-FTD most efficiently.

Actions:

• ‍‍Three wallet segments were tested simultaneously: sports-betting-active wallets, exchange-depositor lookalikes, and generic crypto-active wallets.
• Two creative formats ran per geo: sport-specific match-action footage and brand-led creative.
• Bid caps were held at flat baseline rates to establish unbiased segment performance data. 

Insights: Exchange-depositor lookalikes converted at 2.3x the rate of generic crypto-active wallets at the same CPA. Sport-specific match-action creative beat brand-led creative by 38% on click-to-FTD across all three regions. The geo-by-sport preference pattern, SEA on football, SSA on football and cricket, and LATAM on football and esports was confirmed and used to define the three-track creative library for Phase 2. 

‍Objective: Concentrate budget behind the winning wallet segments, launch the three-track geo by-sport creative library, and activate match-window bid surging on the weekly Tier-1 fixture calendar. 

Actions:

• ‍‍65% of the budget was reallocated to sports-betting-active wallets and exchange-depositor lookalikes.
• The three geo-specific creative tracks replaced the Phase 1 test units.
• Match-window bid surging activated on every weekly Tier-1 fixture window, with bid caps lifting 40–70% above baseline during the window.
• A wallet-aware deposit preview was introduced for connected wallets, reducing first-deposit drop-off by 26%. 

Performance Improvements: CTR lifted from 0.31% at end of Phase 1 to 0.55% by end of Phase 2. Click-to-FTD conversion improved materially across all three geos, with the geo-by-sport creative match accounting for the majority of the lift. The wallet-aware deposit preview reduced first-deposit drop-off by 26% on the highest-volume market.

‍Objective: Scale proven cohorts, activate full connect-cohort retargeting, and expand geo coverage into new markets within each region that cleared the CPA threshold. 

Actions:

• ‍‍Daily spend scaled 2.8x against the proven cohorts.
• Connect-cohort retargeting went live, targeting wallets that had connected but not deposited within seven days with deposit-focused creative.
• Geo expansion into Vietnam, Nigeria, and Mexico proceeded sequentially, with each new market clearing the CPA threshold before receiving incremental budget weight. 

Outcome: Steady-state FTD CPA settled at $228, down 47% from the $430 starting point. 938 first-time depositors were acquired across the full engagement. CTR held at 0.65% through the final quarter. Three tournament finals during the engagement: World Cup qualifiers, Champions League finals, and Asia Cup—each triggered same-day budget shifts into sports-betting-active segments, with deposit intent following within 24 hours of fixture announcement.