Sports betting has always been popular among punters, having started back in the 20th century when bookies would take bets by phone or in person. Thanks to technology, this industry has since grown to accommodate even more punters. Bookies no longer need to have physical offices where punters can come stake and collect their winnings. They now have online websites where they attract punters with competitive odds, sign up betting offers, and fast payouts. And in the future, bookies are hoping to take advantage of the technology available to them to attract even more people to start placing wagers.
These are the trends that will shape the future of sports betting:
- E-Sports Betting Will Increase
E-sports has grown quite fast, attracting players, bookies, and punters. At first, punters were a bit wary of placing wagers on the games because they were not sure about their integrity. After all, how could they tell if the games had been tweaked? But as they got to learn more about what e-sports entail, they became more comfortable with placing wagers on the games. And because there are tons of e-sports with good odds, more punters have been leaning on e-sports betting markets.
Anyone who wants to try this type of betting should:
- Choose a game of choice: Placing wagers on too many games and niches rids you of the chance to strategize,
- Get to know the teams and players in the games, and
- Start slow.
There is a lot of money in e-sports, an industry estimated to be worth more than $100 billion by 2026. But the only way to get a share of this chunk is to approach the games methodically.
- Micro-Betting Will be More Accessible
Usually, players need to place wagers based on a certain timeframe. For example, you can bet that team A will have scored more than 1.5 goals by halftime. Or team B will have scored less than 4.5 goals by the time the game ends. These common bets feature an extended timeframe. But what if you wanted to bet on something that would take place in minutes or seconds? For example, player X may have a corner kick and you may want to stake that the player will score. How great would that be!
Micro-betting allows punters to bet on smaller events within the extended timeframe that is characteristic of most games. And that opens up this betting market to punters who would like to place more wagers so they can recover what they may lose by the time the game ends.
- Peer-to-Peer Wagering Will Become More Common
Sometimes, people want to forgo the bookie and instead, deal with other punters. For example, teams A and B may be going head-to-head, and you want to place an all-or-nothing wager because the teams are equally strong. So, you back team A with $500 and you find someone who wants to back team B with the same amount, resulting in a prize pool of $1,000. Using a winner-takes-it-all approach, you then place the amount in escrow and wait for the outcome.
Some people use betting exchanges while others transact with each other directly. The rules for such wagers are not quite clear, especially when the transactions take place across borders. But as more people become aware of this option, it is set to attract a lot of interest.
While sports betting is set to grow bigger, the basics of the gameplay will not change. Any punter who wants to invest in staking must do a lot of research, come up with good playing strategies, and keep an eye on how much money they spend. Betting is an investment, and you must thus figure out how you can protect your investment, i.e., your stake.