With the majority of sports now in full swing, this week we are looking at just how prevalent betting is across different sports fan bases across the UK. Fans are expected to engage with sports in various ways, with betting being one.
Sports fans bet on teams in order to make money from their prediction. Betting on one’s team is also a way for a fan to demonstrate their support. Moreover, sports betting enhances the entertainment value of the sporting event, because it causes the outcome to have a measurable effect on the better’s life.
Sports betting keeps fans engaged and excited about engaging with their teams because fans are motivated to go to events in person and also watch games entirely. Sports betting allows teams and organizations to engage with and attract fans of each of these broad demographics, creating a comprehensive enhanced fan experience for every construct of a fan.
Many Teams Support Sports Betting
With support from state and federal governments, many teams are beginning to implement sports betting in their venues, to draw fans to their events, as well as to create a unique fan experience for them. With so many soccer fans looking to place wagers, it makes sense for soccer leagues to be protecting their positions, with the British Government set to rewrite the Gambling Act of 2005, which will include an overhaul of sponsorship in gambling.
Already a $154m play on US TV local TV spots, online sports betting is the latest method by which a handful of prolific gambling brands are capitalizing on the $780bn opportunities brought to the table by the country’s 7.3m daily Fantasy Bettors. In addition to increasing engagement with sports, increased gambling interest will benefit online gaming operators such as FanDuel and DraftKings, since sports-betting services are the most prevalent avenue through which bets are placed.
On the other side of the ledger, for fans, sports betting provides a way to increase their level of involvement, and, if everything goes well, some extra cash. While the vast number of NFL fans presents an opportunity, those fans are currently less engaged in sports betting than NFL skills may indicate. According to Nielsen Fan Insights, the mass appeal of the NFL does not automatically translate to a higher proportion of fans who are interested in sports betting.
While Fantasy Sports and books such as FanDuel and DraftKings are still looking to make money, that is not due to a lack of interest among fans who follow their team’s sports, as they are heavily favored for online gambling legalization (55%), relative to the nationwide public (41%).
Sports Betting Has a Massive Appeal
You might have guessed right that sports fans are all in favor of adding additional ways for Americans to re-distribute their wealth through online gaming, fantasy sports, and sports betting. That is why thousands of sports fans watch some sports and wager money on them, taking a chance to make big money.
Earning a large sum of money, which could equal the hard work you put in for one month’s salary, is one reason people are taking chances with sports betting. It is not unheard of for a gambling enthusiast to make a few sports bets, particularly during major games such as the Super Bowl or the NCAA Basketball Final Four, but more often than not, sports bettors are sports fans looking to leverage their knowledge about the game or a players performance to make some extra money.
Sophisticated sports bettors who follow the NBA from home or an office usually know what is going to happen in the game before it is shown on TV, tracking how in-play odds are moving in the more powerful offshore sportsbooks. Turn on any live sporting event these days, and there is probably an avalanche of ads during commercial breaks, tempting engaged fans to jump into the action, betting on different aspects of the games and matches they are watching.
One example of the method currently being used to attract fans is the Perfect Picks from Bleacher Report. Fans are allowed to participate in prediction games while the sports are being live streamed using an app called Crowd Sports.
Crowd Sports Has Revolutionized Sports Betting
As an added benefit, Crowd Sports gives fans a chance to predict better than the rest of the crowd, whether that is two people in a crowd of 22,000. Crowd Sports believes that Crowd Sports is positioned at the intersection of wagering, fan engagement, venues, teams, leagues, and broadcast networks, as its products offer tangible betting value. Because Crowd Sports is proprietary in places that nobody is allowed to bet on (or on) themselves, it is argued the application will grow due to the sheer nature of its crowd, or herd, mentality.
As sports betting’s popularity and support continue to rise, legalized sports betting is going to play an outsized role in the new wave of engagement fans have with the sports and teams they love. Adopting legalized sports betting provides fans and sports mutually profitable opportunities, and it could bring new segments of fans into the fold that would tune in for events.
With its popularity growing exponentially globally, and its legalization across twenty-two states and counting within the U.S., sports betting is beginning to transform the sports viewing landscape, creating new ways for fans to interact with teams and organizations.
The sports betting industry, in general, is expected to experience significant growth in the coming years, as more sports events are made available to stream, and Internet speeds improve. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has foreseen future betting opportunities around micro-events throughout games, like whether a player makes or misses his next free throw. With an increasing number of sports fans becoming gamblers, too, we spoke with a few industry professionals, amateur gamblers, and personalities from VSiN about managing the intersection of betting on games and fandom.
Rounding out our list, about a fifth of Rugby Union fans (22%) had placed money down for betting over the past year, followed by 20% of Tennis fans and 19% of Motorsport fans. For those who are wrapped up in sports betting, work is bound to cut into their fandom. Hundreds of billions are already going into professional sports betting, by all accounts; taking it out of the shadows, adding regulations (and catching) and revenue from taxes is in society’s best interest.