Sports Betting Focus 2018
Sports Betting Focus 2018
March of
THE
MACHINES
The pace of change shows no sign of slowing. Peter Ivanov gives us his expert view on the technological trends coming the industry’ s way
Driven by a constant desire for new technology innovations and better user experience, sports betting is no different to any other industry that needs to attract and retain its users and advance the ecosystem in general.
The betting industry has come a long way since the early days when people interaction was a predominant part of how odds were compiled or markets were provided. We have witnessed a tremendous technology development in sports betting with the inclusion of breakthroughs such as AI, machine learning, augmented and virtual reality and many others. Meanwhile, algorithms have enhanced the efficiency and output, as well as odds calculation. All this has turned sports betting into a fast-paced sector where players can now experience the adrenaline of winning together with their favourite teams and players.
We expect this trend of technology breakthroughs entering the industry at the same pace to develop further. Our industry is evolving exponentially in terms of new features that players use, more exciting betting options and upgraded knowledge that shifts the line into the innovative and creative path of developments. Virtual reality is expected to play a key role in the next five to 10 years, with a growth in both user numbers and in the sorts of devices that offer a VR experience.
Virtual reality’ s futuristic feel can definitely turn tech-savvy users into bettors who also enjoy traditional sports. The user experience will be 100 % futuristic if operators can incorporate VR into, say, horse racing as the user will feel at the heart of the action when placing their bets. Working on the enhancement of the mobile network from 4G to 5G is another positive way of integrating cutting-edge technology solutions more easily for both companies and users.
Experience-focused young people are now spending most of their spare time on mobile devices and social media. This is another trend and demographic to be analyzed and catered for, with compelling gadgets and gizmos from one side where we talk about high street physical presence, and betting options combined with the gamification element on the other.
When we talk about the future of sports betting we cannot ignore the sector itself and its development and legalisation into new jurisdictions. One of the hottest topics right now is the PASPA repeal and the opening up of new markets in states where gambling was previously illegal. This will not only expand the industry stakeholders’ positioning but will definitely give a strong boost to the TV networks and their ad revenues. For instance, at least 20 % of US adults aged 18 or over claim they like to bet on at least one of the four major US sports.
Leading UltraPlay’ s sports and esports team of traders, Peter Ivanov has solid expertise in setting up and developing the trading department, including pre-match and live trading, odds compilation and odds movement training. He also manages UltraPlay’ s daily trading process.
Opening more markets where sports betting is legal, accompanied by a framework that protects the integrity and follows the professional industry’ s standards, will definitely evolve over the next few years. In general, sports betting will expand its offering and add new and exciting sports, markets and ways for placing bets both pre-match and in-play.
“ Virtual reality is expected to play a key role in the next five to 10 years, with a growth
in both user numbers and in the sorts of devices that offer a VR experience”
Last year was marked by another phenomenon. Blockchain had a big impact on the gambling industry, with many ICOs presenting their ideas of how betting could be further improved by using this technology. As a software betting provider with years of experience at the forefront of the igaming market, we have also been strongly positioned with our Bitcoin experience. UltraPlay is famous for being the first betting provider to adopt Bitcoin in 2012 as an alternative payment method for wagering online. At the end of last year and at the beginning of 2018, we executed our ICO project called eGold and we are now on the next stages of the project’ s roadmap where the cryptocurrency will be listed on exchanges and will be integrated on leading online betting operators around the world. Cryptocurrencies are the next big thing; the number of people using them is increasing exponentially and the transparency and speed of transactions definitely improve the user experience.
There are many exciting concepts and trends coming our way, and our main focus as an industry should be on how to use these to improve users’ satisfaction levels.
iGamingBusiness | Issue 111 | July / August 2018 67