f ever an industry raced from zero to 100 in record time, it’s sports betting – especially now the armchair television viewer is fully
For UK sports gamblers, watching live horse racing or a football game on a betting shop TV has been common for a long time. Bookies such as William Hill, Coral and Ladbrokes provided the odds, locations and betting culture. By contrast, in the US, sports betting outside of casinos was only made legal by the Supreme Court in 2018. The US gambling sector has grown out of the huge success of fantasy leagues, allowing companies like FanDuel and DraftKings to take the lead. Consequently, long-standing and new online sports betting companies, the various broadcasters (traditional and streaming), as well as the data and analytics specialists, are all thrown together in a complex mesh of working relationships. BETTING MADE SIMPLE Viewer screens are now flooded with data for betting. Plus, there are increasingly easier-to-use apps, with more technological innovations coming thick and fast. Growth – and potential income – appears to be exponential. However, with hundreds of millions of data points available to the punter on-screen, and the constant options of 24/7 global live sports, the sector is in need of simplification. Leading sports data and analytics company, Stats Perform, argues the sheer amount of information can be overwhelming. WHAT’S ON-SCREEN HAS TO BE INTERESTING – STIMULATING BETTING ACTIVITY
engaged. The estimated value of the worldwide sports betting industry is up to $200 billion, depending on the metrics. But whichever figure you use, it signals nothing but growth for at least the next ten years. The practice – illegal in the US until three years ago, and highly regulated in the UK for decades – is nowadays an integral part of millions of fans’ enjoyment. Increasingly, they bet online – mostly via mobile phone apps – while watching live sports on traditional channels, new streaming services and betting sites. While simple bets, such as pre-game wagers and spread betting, are still the most popular option, it’s in-game gambling that is soaring. And while this is true worldwide, it’s especially so in the UK and US markets. These are two of the most interesting to study, despite radically different betting heritages.
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