The sports betting industry is worth between £435 billion – £625 billion each year, with around 70% of trade deemed related to football betting.
The trends that shaped the sports betting industry can be, among others, the beginning of technological advances delivering a fully optimized package. Hence, making betting on sports more convenient and simplified than ever before.
However, as global in-play markets have grown exponentially in recent years, the problems posed by illegal gambling and match-fixing represent a real and growing problem.
1. Technologic development
The rise in technology greatly impacted the sports betting industry, affecting the industry’s reach, scalability, financial models, and inevitably expanding the market size.
The Sportsbooks were originally buildings establishments, and it was common to find sportsbooks in certain casinos. Still, all these establishments offered limited sports and betting options. Mobile phones and applications became a tool at everybody’s disposal.
Online Sport betting
As the internet became widely accepted and jurisdictions tightened their sports betting regulations, getting rid of scam sites, the industry began to boom.
The countries and jurisdictions that previously prohibited sports betting became mindful of the sports betting trends, realizing that the industry could provide an incredible amount of tax revenue. As a result, they slowly altered the legislation to ease the entry of land-based and online sportsbooks.
This surge became a source of vital information for customers, as they can gather and compare data from their homes.
The benefits
At this point, sportsbooks could use technology to deliver additional options to their customers such as:
- mobile sports betting
- broad betting market
- multiple deposits and withdrawal options
- esports betting
This surge became a source of vital information for customers, as they can gather and compare data from their homes.
2. Match-fixing
Match manipulation or match-fixing is a significant threat to the integrity of sport on a global scale. It has its share of influence in the evolution of sports betting. Without specific measures to manage sports betting and corruption, it will expand further.
The regulated markets are usually managed by the government and provide better opportunities to monitor and address issues related to match manipulation. Compared to unregulated betting markets in which bookmakers operate with limited oversight.
According to Sportradar’s figures, football is the most at risk of corruption-linked betting and match-fixing.
3. Illegal betting
In many countries, bookmaking is being regulated but is not criminalized. Closely related to match-fixing and an ongoing concern for bookmakers is expanding illegal betting. Illegal betting syndicates often offer better odds for a sporting event, ensuring the payout for a winning bet is more lucrative.
A report from the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime estimates that global illegal sports bets total up to $1.7 trillion each year. According to the report, the legal market checked in at around $40 billion in 2020, primarily from Asia ($19.6 billion) and Europe ($15.2 billion). The picture in North America ($2.3 billion) is in flux as more states legalize sports betting.
Considered measures
The opinions of betting from sports authorities are mixed. The United States National Football League was entirely against legalizing sports betting before the late 2010s, vehemently protesting not to bring corruption into the game.
Contrary, the International Cricket Council CEO believes they should legalize sports betting to constrain illegal bookies where match fixing has happened from nontransparent bookmakers. To avoid getting involved in unlawful activity, be informed of the legal places where sports betting is allowed.
Sports betting key trends now
The industry continues to bloom; thus, we’ve gathered the main elements that transform the sports betting industry and make a place for future growth and expansion of possibilities.
· The rise of eSports
eSports are virtual competitions that offer players additional betting opportunities and entertainment, also known as electronic sports. Although these competitions are not physical, they are equally competitive. Electronic sports started as a way for individuals to play against each other.
The eSports has attracted online bookies, and quite a good number are already presenting competitive odds on electronic sports. The best thing about eSports betting is that gamblers can pick odds and markets just like they would for any other sports competition.
· Live Betting
Along with the internet advancements, it is now possible to bet on a particular game or match live while it’s in play.
In live betting, bettors can place additional bets when they see that an imminent play is about to occur or if a likely underdog is coming out on top. It’s advantageous when the bettor realizes that their chances were low or if another bet would make for a better outcome.
Now, most top sportsbooks offer numerous live betting matches every day since live betting has become so popular.
· Micro Betting
Since in-game betting has become popular, it’s led to even more innovations and additional offerings at sportsbooks, including micro- betting.
Micro-betting is essentially live betting on specific elements of a game. Micro-betting means betting on individual moments unrelated to the final score. The bets happen in real-time as the game progresses, like in-play betting.
Compared to live betting in general, the significant difference for micro betting is that micro sports bets tend to settle promptly. The bettors don’t need to wait until the end of a game, half, or quarter to determine whether they won or lost.
· Prop Betting
The ability to wager on one game element is an exciting approach to sports betting. Many sportsbooks in the US are working to provide this option.
Many sportsbooks give you the opportunity of betting on a wide range of prop markets, primarily based on player performances. Even more random prop bet markets are purely for fun, such as the coin toss winner.
Get a better understanding of sports betting
Suppose you decide to start your journey in the sports betting industry. In that case, we recommend you to read top compilation of books to obtain the whole picture and make the proper choices when betting based on your sport of choice. The rise of data analytics across many sports has been a talking point for several years.
Having a better understanding of the information and the elements you should be looking for when making a bet can be reached through research and the right way to approach the matter at hand. The process of using big data and statistical skills to break down information is something that many sports bettors embrace to gain knowledge and keep up with the trends.