How has online betting transformed sports?
Sports betting has undergone a great growth in the last few years, and most of this credit should
go to its online branch. Matter of fact, this industry has been able to spread its arm so far you’ll
rarely see a football team that didn’t have a sportsbook logo on their jersey.
The sports industry is among the world’s most thrilling industries, and part of its grip is because
people have for the longest time enjoyed watching and playing sports. Although it has been an
important part of the world for ages, it managed to recently reach new levels, thanks to online
betting.
The introduction of online sports betting to the scene is transforming sports and how fans engage
with it. This influence has had both positive and negative effects, which we have sampled in this
article. Keep reading to find out the whole thing.
The Positives:
These are some of the positive ways online betting changed sports:
Progressing The Gambling Industry’s Growth
Online sports betting has become quite popular, and has been on an ascending trend, with
analysts predicting the global sports betting market size to grow up to 10% till 2028, racking in
$140 billion worldwide.
Part of this growth can be linked to the several US states that legalized sports betting. A research
by the American Gaming Association states that sports betting grew 63% in the US, with more
than 18 million Americans betting on the NFL.
In Europe as well, 41% of all the online gambling revenues were from sports betting. Going by
this data, the online sports betting market has huge potential. Its growth has had a positive effect
on the gambling industry in terms of generating profits.
Convenient Betting
Online betting has provided many ways to bet on sports easily. Bettors can place more than one
sports bet in minutes, without them having to visit a local bookmaker.
Online betting also saves players the time and money they’ll spend in a bookie’s store. Instead
they could just take up their phones, tablets, and laptops, and do everything they would have
traveled to do.
Timely Updates
The widespread nature of online betting thanks to the internet, has made it so that small games
and tournaments can reach people globally. It has also enabled them to find sports news that
cover every league and tournaments, worldwide.
No matter what you wish to know, whether it is a prominent league or a lesser known one, you
can find it on one of the Internet’s numerous news sites. What’s even better is that these sites
have in-built translators that help you read the updates in any language you prefer.
Gamification of sports
Nasdaq experts reckon that the growth of online sports betting, may be because of the
gamification of sports. Gamification transformed the interaction people have with a sports match,
by including gaming elements.
Live betting is one good example of sports’ gamification, and it has been used by most online
sportsbooks. Live betting or in-play wagering, changes the experience people get from just
watching a game, to actively participating and connecting better with the event.
Gamification can also be noted in online betting communities. Gamblers talk to each other on
forums and discuss their predictions trying to find value or gain an edge on bookmakers.
Bonuses and Promotions
The bonuses and promotions you’ll get from online sports betting sites, put to shame the ones
you would get from local sportsbooks which are just a handful of betting specials they offer
occasionally.
Betting online offers you the opportunity of making thousands of dollars in bonus cash, all due to
the incredible bonuses and other promotions these online sports betting websites provide. This
way you bet on sports and still earn a sizable amount in bonuses.
The welcome bonus offered by sportsbooks is the most lucrative gift online sportsbooks give
their punters. Bonuses differ amongst betting websites, with each one trying to outdo the other
by offering higher and better deals than the rest to attract customers. By signing up with an
online betting site with good bonus deals and promotions, especially welcome bonus, you could
do a lot by simply signing up and depositing money.
On the other hand, we’ll give you the chance to earn bonus cash through other bonuses and
promotions like reduced juice deals or promotions revolving around you betting on an unpopular
sporting tournament.
Esports
Betting over the internet didn’t just make the sports industry more accessible, it also led to the
development of a new type of sport, which is eSports. This sport happens solely online, which
means the people who compete in it, do so from different parts of the world, uniting virtually for
a common goal, to play.
Expanding Revenues For Leagues
In the United States, the spread of betting legalization is set to bring in significant revenues into
the pockets of major sports leagues. Experts say that American sports might earn more than $4
billion through advertising, sponsorships, and increased viewership.
In English football, betting sponsorships brought in more than $140 million in the past years,
with a close second being Spain at $70 million. But, the American society is more accepting of
the gamification of sports.
In England, new figures show that gambling sponsorships will be split in half from 15.3% –
8.1%. Some people foretell a collective ban on gambling sponsorships. While these are all
speculations, many clubs with sportsbook companies as their main sponsors, are worried.
Market movements showing that online sports betting has come to stay, making it strange that
sports leagues and clubs would be deprived of better sponsorship deals.
Variety Of Sports
Online betting offers bettors a more extensive variety of sports they can bet on and types of bets
they can place, than they would get from brick and mortar sportsbooks. This also means that
players can place all their bets in one place.
Most online sports betting sites provide you a more extensive selection than what you’ll find in a
land-based sportsbook. Sportsbooks typically carry bets on sports like soccer and football, online
sports betting sites offer you something rare like fantasy sports. Online also accepts betting
action on esports.
Betting advertising
Advertising impacted the growth of sports betting, and also changed sports. You cannot watch a
Sunday Match on TV, without seeing multiple ADS from every type of bookie. This also goes
for when you read about your favorite athletes online.
Some bookmakers display odds while a match is ongoing and there are lots of betting talks in
pre-and post-game talk shows. Guests on these talk shows are usually former sports personalities
who come to play tipsters and give betting advice.
Better Odds
When betting, finding the best odds available on that bet, gives you the possible highest profit
return if that bet wins. If you find a sportsbook that gives you odds that are a bit higher than what
another one is offering you, you’ll still get a higher return if you win the bet.
While this may not seem like much in a single bet, it’ll make more sense over the course of your
betting career. Finding the best odds possible will always increase the payout amount you earn.
Odds offered to you by most online sportsbooks are better than what you’ll get from brick and
mortar sportsbooks. Line shopping is one way to ensure you get the best odds in your sports bets;
this means using more than one online sportsbook to shop your wagers.
Free Sports Streaming
Online sports betting websites will offer bettors free streaming benefits, if they are a member of
their site. This gesture is becoming more valuable, and causing people to walk away from
traditional cable TV subscription plans.
These online sports betting sites can milk this benefit to their advantage, because they can free
stream for you sporting events a cable service provider won’t show you like dog and horse
racing. International sporting events too that won’t show on local television plans.
Broad Payment Options
Another good way online betting has transformed sports for the better is the broad set of payment
options available on several online betting sites. And brick and mortar sportsbooks who only
accept cash for betting, they accept many different types of deposit methods into your betting
account.
Today, bettors can enjoy paying with credit cards, cryptocurrencies, e-wallets (Skrill and
Neteller) or funding their betting accounts with these methods. Cryptocurrency especially is
quickly gaining popularity and most online sportsbooks are accepting Bitcoin and Ethereum
which you could use to fund your account too.
Additionally, you could earn credit card points for funding your online betting account using
card instead of cash.
Negatives:
Guaranteed, online betting has to an extent changed sports for the better. But what negative
impacts has it had or engineered in this industry?
Risks And Challenges
Although most experts see the growth of the sports industry as having a positive effect on sports,
not all experts share in this optimism. Gambling logos have been featured over 700 times in
football matches, leading to claims that gambling in fact has a ‘parasitic influence’ on games.
Yes, over advertising negatively affects sports, particularly if these gambling advertisements are
broadcasted at hours when children can view them.
But, if these ads are still curbed, there is also the issue of stadiums being covered with gambling
ads. And players who act as advertisers by wearing Jerseys that a branded with bookmaker’s
logos.
Betting vocabulary has been integrated as sports is talked about. Sports matches are being seen
as a question of ‘who’s going to cover the spread?’
Whether gambling is parasitic or not, its influence cannot be changed. However, the looming
negative consequences can be averted through education and sensitization about the principles of
gambling responsibly.
Match-fixing Accusations
Due to sports clubs’ associating with gambling companies, most people put the fairness of a
game into doubt. They say sponsorship deals raise ethical concerns.
This can be seen as the shady side of sports betting influence on the game. We discuss who will
cover the spread or if the odds of Christiano Ronaldo scoring reflect reality, and this is allowed.
But these days, it is believed that matches are rigged when a player doesn’t score a penalty or
gets a red card at a bad moment. And this belief is common among sports bettors.
For instance, If a bookie gives 1.5 odds for Arsenal to beat Chelsea, and they lose in the 91st
minute. If someone lost their wager on this, they would prefer to think that the bookie rigged the
match, than accept the truth that Arsenal had a bad match day.
Sportsbooks Do Not Fix Matches
Fixing matches by sportsbooks are unethical and completely avoided by them because a rigged
match means a possible money leak.
Match-fixing is not uncommon, but gambling isn’t always involved in them. Also, it is
unreasonable that a global bookmaker would tamper with a match, especially if it is a top-tier
one. It is more possible if players are the ones who arrange a game and get their friends to make
some easy money, by betting on a sure outcome.
Bookmakers may post fake odds and mislead bettors to bet on Arsenal when their team is on a
bad match streak, but they will not go as far as paying the team to lose the game.
You can rest easy knowing that many international and local betting organizations believe in the
integrity of sports. And licensed bookmakers are governed by local laws, which means believing
that matches are fixed is a flawed view.
Online sports betting has transformed our view of sports and how we experience it in many
ways. On the other hand, its branch, Live betting, promoted interactions between fans and
athletes. It turned a sports event into a more personal experience because people have put money
into it.
Generally, the sports industry grows rapidly, the language used to converse about sports have
changed too, including different types of betting-related terms.
