We depend on technology in many ways. And during the COVID-19 pandemic and aftermath, this reliance grew in leaps and bounds. People worked from home, depending on technology to run their businesses, communicate, and even cater to their personal needs. Sports betting sites were not left behind.
Even now, as things resume normalcy, the best betting sites have adopted measures to ensure that punters can access betting markets anywhere. How have they done this?
The Wake of Technological Advancements in Sports Betting
Source: globalpaymentsgaming.com
Online sports betting has served as a convenience for most punters. After all, it does not get easier than logging into a betting account, placing a wager, and cashing out. Or does it? If recent technological moves are anything to go by, placing wagers will soon be much more accessible and fun. Let’s review the current strategies:
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Artificial Intelligence (AI)
AI, which can use available resources to better its output, has heavily impacted the sports betting industry in the following ways:
- It helps bookies predict the success of any betting market before introducing it to a site,
- It eases the calculation of odds and payouts, increasing payout efficiency and revenue generation, and
- It allows bookies to structure their marketing strategies to retain and attract clients by tailoring ads per target group.
Moreover, punters have also used it to their advantage. Instead of running analyses by pen and paper, they can rely on AI to predict outcomes based on past and present results. It’s a win-win situation!
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Live Betting
Many punters have placed wagers only to see their money go down the drain during the gameplay. And, of course, they wished they could do something to salvage the situation. Well, now they can!
Bookies have introduced live betting, which allows punters to place bets as the games ensue. While they cannot change their original wagers, they can place others to recoup what they will lose and even capitalize on the game’s events. This feature makes wagering even more fun, as punters can react to real-time events.
Additionally, many bookies have live streaming options on their sites, which allow punters to watch the matches as they play out. When combined with live betting, punters have a front-row seat to all the action and profits.
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Blockchain Technology
Source: cryptowisser.com
Fairness in sports betting is essential in fostering trust between the bookies and punters. They must all feel that the other party has not tweaked the results. But how can they know this when systems are prone to hacking? Blockchain technology!
This immutable platform ensures that neither bookies nor punters can change their actions. Thus, a bookie cannot tweak the set odds after the punter has placed a wager. Nor can a punter access the odds after they have placed their bet. This trust makes it easier for both parties to invest more money and time in wagers, thus growing the industry.
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Mobile Gaming
Many people own mobile phones, even in developing countries. So, it makes sense that placing wagers on phones would be accessible. Bookies have permitted this through mobile browsers and apps. They have optimized their pages such that they can load on mobile browsers.
Before this, the pages were too heavy and often worked on a few devices due to the storage and processing requirements. But now, any smartphone can access mobile web pages. Apps are even more convenient as they allow punters to game on the go without loading mobile web pages.
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Virtual Currencies
Source: europarl.europa.eu
Bank transfers, card payments, and e-wallets were once the only payment methods available on sports betting sites. But since they required punters to share their financial details, some held back from placing wagers. Then came a better option – virtual currencies.
These were fast, secure, and anonymous, and punters pushed to have them introduced as options. As a result, more sites now accept these currencies, which has attracted more punters to the sports betting world.
Virtual reality is also on the rise. Bookies hope to use it to further the perks of live streaming and betting by transporting punters to live football matches in the virtual realm.
