The sports betting industry is growing at a rapid rate and shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. As a result, the demand for quality content continues to grow alongside it.

Networks have made huge investments into their gambling-related programming, incorporating “betcasts” into game broadcasts, creating entire betting-related shows, and expanding gambling conversations into radio lineups across the country.

When it comes to the radio industry, Audacy has been the leader in setting the tone for how to best incorporate betting content into daily radio lineups, recently expanding their BetQL network to seven new cities.

Depending on which states have legalized sports betting, some local stations may have had related content on their airways for a while, but for those who are just starting to introduce gambling programming the challenge is finding a way to appeal to both the causal sports bettor and the advanced sports bettor.

“If we don’t speak to both groups, myself and “You Better You Bet” will have missed a major opportunity, and we aren’t in the business of missing opportunities,” said Nick Kostos, host of “You Better You Bet” which airs weekdays from 3p-7p ET.

Kostos, an industry leader in sports gambling, has coined the term “wagertainment,” which he says speaks to the goal of talking about sports betting in an entertaining and informative way that’s accessible to any type of gambler.

Expanding on the term, Kostos used the example of breaking down a line or player prop – something that an advanced bettor would be interested in –  and pairing it with information that provides game analysts – something that appeals to the average sports fan.

“Futures bets are another good example of this, too, because we answer the question all fans ask themselves — who’s going to win, and can we profit off that thought?” said Kostas. “That’s what betting largely is. Who’s going to win and by how many?

“All sports fans think about these things on a daily basis. Literally, everything the casual sports fan is interested in intersects with something a bettor might bet on.”

While most topics have a natural intersection between bettors and casual fans, there is a lot that traditional radio shows touch on that gambling hosts like Kostos don’t cover.  

“We never want to insult the intelligence of our audience with hot takes,” said Kostos. “We’re not debating legacies or asking manufactured questions that have nothing to do with what’s actually happening during the game. We’re not discussing lame topics like “LeBron or Jordan?” while there are NBA and NHL playoff games to go along with golf, soccer and baseball.”

While putting aside some of the hot take-style content – something that Kostos has loved about betting programming – separates traditional sports talk shows from gambling shows, the way he prepares for a betting show similar to a regular sports talk show.

“When we break down last night’s game, we don’t just do treetop topics, but we analyze specific player performances and how the teams strategized and how that might lead to opportunity in both the next game and the futures market,” said Kostos. “It becomes one big running storyline that’s updated on a daily basis. And we do it in an entertaining way that’s accessible to all. Wagertainment.”

Audacy’s BetQL lineup expanding into several different cities might be foreshadowing for what the future of audio betting content looks like.

“If companies are smart, they’ll add more betting content,” said Kostos.

He also noted that sports-talk in general has gotten way too far away from the actual discussion about sports, using the example of spending days talking about Aaron Rodgers when most all of the information was speculation.

“I believe as sports betting continues to grow, the demand for actual sports talk will once again become insatiable,” said Kostos. “So yes, I do believe companies will get more involved in the space. And I’m thrilled to be working for one, Audacy, that totally gets it in this regard.”