The tech industry has developed by a large margin in recent decades. This has positively affected several sectors, including finance, manufacturing, marketing, etc. The gambling industry is also one of the segments that tech advancements have disrupted.
In the sports betting sub-sector of the US, technology has greatly influenced how punters and platforms conduct gambling. In states like Maryland, the residents voted to legalize sports betting in the region. Because of this, Maryland online sports betting was launched, with five sportsbooks opening their doors in late 2021.
Now, even if you’re in another region, you can connect to online sportsbooks in your state and make wagers. It has become more convenient for bettors to place bets from their mobiles and computers.
How online sports betting became popular
Online sports betting began after the spread of online casinos, another platform for bettors to game and have fun. This was the mid-1990s when the internet was fast becoming popular, the dot com boom was in play, and sportsbooks were looking to target a new market.
Bookmakers were open to attracting a new crop of users and exploring new technology. This has prompted them to leverage the internet. Sports betting platforms started by creating internet markets that supported physical betting shops.
Sportsbooks were forced to step up as online casinos began to take a larger share of the gambling market. For one, bonuses and promotional offers increased for bet tickets to attract new followers. This led to a spike in the number of sports betting punters.
Nevertheless, the effect of technology on the sports gambling sector would have been lessened if a small number of people were leveraging the internet. The more individuals use the internet, the greater the success of these online platforms.
With the establishment of Betfair and a new betting exchange medium, a significant turn in the betting sector was spotted. Now wagers can be made from any location, at any time, and how a user wants it to be.
Live bets were primarily introduced to the internet in 2002, and bet markets experienced a spike. Due to the mass adoption of the internet in the 2000s, conventional forms of betting have begun to die a natural death. New punters are more comfortable with internet betting, which has remained the status quo.
Types of technologies shaping the sports betting sector
Here is how modern technology is shaping the sports betting sector:
Blockchain tech
A cryptocurrency is a virtual currency that decentralizes the control of the financial system. With crypto transactions, bettors can make payments into their sports betting accounts. Crypto networks also allow for lightning-quick payments. That is why several people go for digital currencies.
Digital currencies are built using distributed ledger or blockchain technology. This allows gamblers the opportunity to experience price fluctuations. Cryptos like bitcoin and Ethereum have smashed borders to establish a truly global payment system unfettered by regional boundaries.
Without the opportunity to make cross-border payments, individuals in restricted regions would have less freedom in navigating betting.
Smartphone betting
When conventional online sports betting platforms launched in the 2000s, you had to find a PC to make bets. Today, with an iPhone or Android device, you can make a bet in a couple of minutes.
One of the biggest influences modern technologies have had on sports betting is the ease of making bets with smartphones. It has led to an explosion of users in the gambling market. All you’d need to do is install a betting app from a verified store and sign up for an account.
You wouldn’t need to head to a betting shop to make wagers. With smartphone betting, you’d exercise greater control over the wager you want to make.
Virtual reality
Virtual reality allows internet users to experience an alternate form of activities. For one, individuals can get involved in a virtual reality game. With VR headgear, it would be no different from playing on a football field with the sounds and cheers from the crowd. Virtual reality would make virtual games more interesting for bettors.
International sports betting
The existence of online sports betting platforms has broken the barriers that exist in regions where betting is restricted. Some nations prevent their citizens from betting. This affects the global gambling market.
However, with online sports betting, a potential bettor in a restricted area can use a bookmaking platform in another region to make bets. This way, sports betting has become a service that is accessible to a larger percentage of individuals.
The technology sector has experienced a major revolution in the past decades. In turn, it positively affects different industries, including the gambling sector.
Online sports betting began in the 1990s after online casinos started to spring up on the internet. However, it wasn’t until the early 2000s that internet sports betting morphed into what we know today. The technologies that affect the sports betting sector the most include blockchain, smartphone devices, and virtual reality gear.
