The National Football League’s growing success overseas has had a profound effect on the betting industry. So many people have found enjoyment in watching the exciting matches and backing the team that they’ve grown fond of. With the Super Bowl fast approaching, we are bound to see an ever growing number of people who want to bet on America’s favorite sport.
The Growing Shift in the Betting Industry
But the one thing many people may not understand is how much the betting industry has changed in the past five years. The reason for the shift stems from the rapid technological advancements that we’ve all experienced in the past decade. Digital technology has revolutionized the online betting scene and has elevated it greatly in the eyes of many.
Some may be wondering how much the football betting market has been affected by this shift. The simple answer is that all of the betting sector has gone in a direction from which there is little chances of returning. But the good news is that the direction we are headed seems to resonate with new and experienced bettors alike. Even the iGaming sector that has given us casinos with incredible payout rates has noticed the positive shift. So let us examine how digital tech has changed football betting.
Live Odds and In-Play Betting
The incorporation of livestream technology in iGaming has done wonders for both online casinos and sportsbooks. Live casinos create a more immersive and personal experience for new gamblers. But the effects that the technology has had on betting are even greater. The biggest change that streaming services have done to the sports betting sector is the addition of in-play betting.
The name is a dead giveaway for what live odds and in-play betting means. Betting fans can now wager on football matches as they are taking place. You can be enjoying a live event and placing bets on it at the same time. It is hard to perform studies and research to see exactly how popular live betting is. But an estimate says that close to 50% of all wagers two years ago were in-play bets.
Live betting has done wonders for boosting engagement among new fans. It is a fun way to keep people interested in a match without relying on the typical match wagers that so many of us are now familiar with. But live odds are not the only way that the industry has changed in the past five years.
Virtual Reality Plays a Role
The discussion surrounding virtual reality have been getting quite heated recently. There are plenty of people who see VR as a passing fad and believe it has no role in gaming. There are also those who vehemently disagree, believing VR to be the future of entertainment. But does virtual reality play a role in sports and more importantly betting?
It is possible to get something out of virtual reality in the sports betting community. The technology may not be at a level that some people are happy with. But there is no denying that there are those who dream of a world where they could visit a live match in the digital realm. But where VR really shines in the world of sports betting is in the simulated reality wagering sector.
Simulated reality betting stems from the cricket market. But it has found a place in sports all over the world. It is entirely possible to adapt the technology that helps cricket fans enjoy the Simulated Reality League to account for football matches. That way fans of the NFL could enjoy intense games all year round. That would certainly make plenty of new and old fans happy.
The Role of Artificial Intelligence
If you thought the VR debate has gotten a bit too heated, then we would recommend you stay away from artificial intelligence discussion forums. The negative effects of Generative AI have caused many to clash over the ethics of using this new technology. The recent news that the market is not doing all that well has also been quite a blow to many fans of the new tech.
But the sports betting industry has certainly found some use for artificial intelligence. Namely, sports betting fans are using generative AI to create odds and compare them to those listed by professional odds makers. The idea may seem rock solid in theory. But we must remember that artificial intelligence often works to satisfy the user rather than share the facts. Relying too much on GenAI is a good way to make bad wagers on NFL matches.
It is worth pointing out that not all machine learning algorithms are the same as generative AI. Odds makers have been using them for years to help them in crafting the best odds possible. Many professionals have indeed been using AI before the thought of GenAI ever even hit the mainstream. Machine algorithms are useful in doing quick mathematical analysis and solving difficult equation in a fraction of the time it would take for a human mind to do it.
The Future is Digital
It is difficult to say what the future holds for the National Football League or for the betting industry. It is hard for even hardcore fans to predict what the NFL draft prospects are. But it is how we handle the unexpected changes that truly defines what we can expect from the future. Having said that, it is absolutely true that pontificating on what the future may hold is a fun pastime for most of us. And it doesn’t take much to predict that the future of betting is digital.
The integration of blockchain technology in the iGaming industry is certainly going to have some pretty intense ramifications for one. Tech experts believe that future sportsbooks may run entirely on a blockchain. This would not only open up the doors to faster and more widespread crypto-based deposits. It would also mean that the transactions are saved and easily accessible on a blockchain ledger. The industry would thus become a lot safer and more transparent for average bettors.
