Betting has been around for centuries, becoming a legal form of entertainment to utilise alongside UK sports in 1960. Of course, it wasn’t until recently that the modern betting industry as we know it started to take shape, with the Gambling Commission being established to govern all gambling activities under the Gambling Act 2005. The rise of the internet changed the game, and increasingly so, as it became faster, more power and more accessible to all.
It’s through this platform that betting has evolved tremendously. Spurred by an avid market that loves a huge range of sports and a high level of competition, betting brands are constantly seeking ways to utilise new technologies to get an edge. The industry is booming, and not just in the UK; over the last couple of years, sports betting has finally crossed the pond into an ever-expanding and legal space of gambling.
In less than 20 years, technological innovations have transformed betting tremendously and look to do so even more in the coming years.
Key tech that has spurred the industry
Perhaps the most disruptive technology of our time has been the smartphone. Since its mainstream inception in 2007 with the first iPhone, smartphones have rapidly evolved to become a day-to-day essential of modern life. Now, smartphones greatly out-power the computers behind Apollo 11 and go far beyond the processing potential of many vintage supercomputers.
While having convenient access to a sports betting site or app gradually grew into becoming the normal way to bet for many, smartphones eventually became an essential element to one of the most tech-driven aspects of betting today. The instant connection to the internet, power to update in an instant, and usability speed all enabled a huge leap in betting tech.
Having developed mobile-optimised apps that can handle huge data feeds and run at high speeds, live betting became a reality. Offering bettors instant odds that reflect the standing of the game at that point in time immediately made the activity more immersive. These in-play markets also extended the application of betting from a pre-game tool to an effective companion for those watching the action live and want to back their predictions.
Now, speed and live features are at the core of the best betting experiences. In fact, the top-rated betting apps, according to www.sbo.net/betting-apps/, are judged on these factors above all else. Each app that earns the recommendation of the betting hub has to be reliable and fast, offer in-play betting, have a live cash-out feature, feature live stats and streaming, and be slick and easy-to-use so that live changes can be capitalised on.
Competition will continue to spur tech adoption
Betting is already a tech-based industry, overall, with the remote sector taking over and becoming more appealing by the year. It’s simply too smooth running, convenient, and accessible for it to cede ground to land-based sportsbooks now. The sector has only reached this stage because of the immense level of competition encouraged by the UK Gambling Commission’s regulations, which allow all to enter if they can pass their strict rules.
As it turns out, hundreds of platforms are willing to tailor their offering to suit the UKGC’s wishes as the UK betting market is so valuable – and increasingly so. More competition and more users will only see brands needing to find new ways to appeal to players, with the application of innovative tech almost always being the answer. After all, promotions and odds can only be improved so far before they become unviable for a business.
Is a full tech takeover on the horizon for sports?
With tech propelling sports betting to bigger and better things, will it also be taking over the sports that it covers? In 2020, several broadcast companies and sports leagues turned to promoting their video game counterparts. Perhaps the biggest success story of these was the Virtual Grand Prix series, which, as it’s possible to read at www.formula1.com/, achieved a record-breaking viewer count of 30 million via TV and digital platforms in place of Formula One. In fact, the competitions continue to this day and are still very popular.
The F1 game does offer a competitive, sporting experience, with the mechanics of the game putting a human player in each car to test their virtual racing skill. A less skill-oriented sports video games also managed to catch on last year, though, with the ePremier League staged on FIFA 20 drawing in football fans. In the end, Leicester City’s real-life attacking midfielder James Maddison came out on top.
Furthermore, a tech-driven new-age sport is making waves around the world. The ever-growing eSports industry sees talented gamers compete in fair, balanced, and truly challenging games for massive prizes in front of millions of viewers. None of the team sports games (FIFA, NBA 2K21, Madden, etc.) can establish themselves in eSports due to their inherent lack of reliance on pure player skill, but the likes of Dota 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive command mighty followings because they are entirely sporting affairs.
There lies the key, though. Even in eSports, there are still humans calling the shots, with those games that aren’t wholly decided by human input being mostly outcast by the eSports industry – being deemed competitive gaming, instead. As such, it seems very unlikely that robots, AI, or any other form of tech sportsperson will ever take the place of human athletes.
What’s the next technological leap for sports betting?
Another application of tech which took to the mainstream in 2020 was that of virtual fans. Especially in US sports, fans could get a virtual ticket to a video chat-type room to appear in the stands at live games, and watch along live while doing so. The next step for this, which www.nbcnews.com/ says has been discussed for a few years now, could be the introduction of virtual reality live spectating. Should betting platforms clock this, they could take it further.
Virtual reality has been a nice trend for quite some time, something we reported on last year at futurewithtech.com/, with VR being implemented for special occasions, such as concerts, and presenting itself as a new form of gaming. It’s been slow to take off because of the high cost of mid-to-top range headsets. Now, however, much more affordable headsets that can perform all of the expected interactions are available, becoming increasingly popular.
For betting applications, the next step could be to take the idea of the live-streamed fan with the VR headsets and their live betting. So, it’d combine to create a way for people to watch a game live from a virtual seat, be immersed entirely in the setting thanks to the VR headset, but then also be able to see and use a betting overlay to place live bets within this virtual environment.
It’s tough to predict how betting companies will grow into new tech, especially as the possibilities that can come with 5G are said to be all but inconceivable at this time. Still, the tech-driven industry will continue to seek ways to improve through online innovations.
