Since the industrial revolution, technology has become a vital part of the sports betting industry. First, there was the invention of the telegraph, which allowed individuals to place bets with this technology. Then there were radios which facilitated open-air bets that everyone following that particular station could hear.
However, today, the internet has exploded the sports betting industry. Anyone can log in to the betway app to place wagers from any location in the world that has an internet connection. Nevertheless, since the intervention of the internet, some key technologies have been at the forefront of sports betting.
These technologies are still primarily in development. Nonetheless, they’re still considered the future of the sports betting industry since they have the potential to boost revenues.
Top Technologies that are Shifting Sports Betting Demand
- Augmented and Virtual Reality
Augmented and Virtual Reality are poised to increase the engagement of sports bettors in a couple of years to come. They both allow bookmakers to manage their operations better without physical meetings.
Augmented reality is at the forefront, allowing a possibility where sports bettors can be watching games and simultaneously accessing the details of a player on any of the teams. Imagine the data you need displaying on your screen as you’re watching a live game instead of heading over to Google’s search engine.
This way, players will be able to place more accurate bets.
- Video Assistant Referees (VAR)
Video Assistant Referees (VAR) is a relatively new concept in the world of football. It began in 2018 after numerous calls for bad decisions by referees. The VAR team reviews a referee’s decision by checking the events that led to a particular instance, like offsides or handballs.
VAR has impacted bookmakers by prompting them to increase the time to suspend bets. In the past, when the referee’s decision was final and couldn’t be overturned, bets could be suspended earlier. Now, sportsbooks have to enhance their business model by giving more time to decide on a bet.
- Blockchain
The blockchain efficiently stores financial transactions in open-source ledgers, allowing the information to be accessed by anyone. For sportsbooks, this is beneficial because smart contracts can automate the entire betting process, leading to reduced costs.
The blockchain also speeds up the amount of time required for deposits and withdrawals. Digital currencies also attract lesser fees than conventional banks.
Conclusion
Technology has always been one of the key propellers of the sports betting industry. The emergence of the internet massively exploded sports betting. Nevertheless, technologies like blockchain, augmented and virtual reality, and VAR are pushing the sports betting industry forward for the future.
