Sports betting has been around in one form or another for hundreds of years. Yet, the actual tipping point happened relatively recently with the widespread introduction of technology and big data into sports betting. Thanks to technology, nearly every facet of sports betting has been streamlined and made better and safer.
So let’s delve deeper into how technology has changed the sports betting industry and the developments that bookies should keep an eye out for.
Sports Betting Industry and Technology – A General Overview
On the other side, sports betting providers and bookmakers can use technology to:
But even more important, technology has allowed entire new sectors to bloom within the betting industry. More specifically, sportsbook and data-providing solutions. For example, bookmakers can rely on platforms such as OddsMatrix for real-time sports data, odds, and automation.
More precisely, technology has brought a marked improvement in the following areas:
The allure of supposed “big winnings with little effort” has always made sports betting an obvious target for the shadier elements of the unofficial economy.
Fortunately, a combination of solid legislation and bookmakers’ own internal efforts to render their services fraud-proof has made it harder and harder for criminal elements to exploit vulnerabilities for profit.
For simplicity’s sake, we will focus on the security improvements brought by technology.
OddsMatrix, the leading betting technology provider, has a suite of anti-fraud and anti-cheating tools prebaked into the platform.
For one, OddsMatrix includes advanced security systems, including robust encryption protocols to protect sensitive data and access controls to prevent unauthorized parties from illegally obtaining said data.
Secondly, OddsMatrix’s security infrastructure is built with proactivity in mind. Its sophisticated fraud detection and prevention tools are meant to assist bookies in identifying and managing fraudulent activity before it becomes a problem.
Take the player profiling feature. With it, bookies can classify players according to their betting behavior and profitability. Operators can use this data to identify patterns, decide if it fits fraudulent behavior, and act accordingly.
Thus, by helping operators build safer and more reliable businesses, technology has, naturally, led to a safer and more reliable experience for regular bettors, too.
We can safely say that odds are the bread and butter of sports betting – both for operators and their customers. While sports betting has a pretty interesting and storied history, we won’t explore how bookies used to establish odds before the advent of computing.
But let’s briefly flash forward from the inception of sports betting to more recent times.
The first betting websites appeared sometime in the 1990s. Many people hesitated to jump to online gambling due to the ubiquitousness and convenience of “physical” gambling and a general mistrust of online betting. In the span of less than two decades, online gambling went from an oddity to a way to gamble.
The online revolution served not only customers well but gambling operators, too. Technology has allowed bookmakers to establish accurate odds and tweak and customize them according to historical data and various external factors.
From factors such as the team’s past performance, player injuries, and team composition to even the weather, the bookies of today have a near-infinite pool of data to tap into when setting odds.
However, the abundance of data spawns one of those “good problems”. How does one distinguish between “qualitative” and junk data? How does one affirm with absolute certainty that the weather conditions on X date had actually impacted Y result and wasn’t a mere statistical anomaly?
Sports betting data providers are built around addressing this issue. For example, OddsMatrix offers real-time odds data for various sports and betting markets. By integrating this data into their platform, you, as a bookmaker, can access accurate and up-to-date odds. You can then use that data to set your own odds and adjust them based on market trends.
Online betting has been a fixture of the gambling industry for a while now: customers can place their bets whenever, wherever, with a few taps on their smartphone screens. That’s the general direction the industry is heading in terms of accessibility.
Generally, through technology, bookmakers have been able to provide the following services to their customers:
However, the more intricately woven with the digital space the gambling industry becomes, the more complex (and reliable) the technology making this dynamic possible needs to be.
Then there’s the fact that bookmakers must use an ever-expanding tool roster to make this possible. When reaching that point, the need for integrations or solutions that make it so that their existing tools communicate with each other arises.
OddsMatrix solves this potential problem with its real-time, API-based widgets and the option of integrating the solution with external systems and tools.
Now that we’ve covered the how it’s time to look at the technological developments that all bookies should keep an eye on when looking for future business and scaling opportunities.
It’s safe to say that automation has brought the sports gambling industry to a new level. Thanks to technological advances in the last few years, advanced algorithms and automation solutions have become more accessible than ever before.
On the most basic level, algorithms help bookmakers tap and interpret vast swaths of data, allowing a deeper analysis and, naturally, a more nuanced and granular understanding of their customer base.
But there’s more to automation than that. Bookmakers can rely on this technology to automate crucial parts of their business: data feeds, settlements, and odds calculations fall into the realm of automatable.
Automation-friendly solutions such as OddsMatrix bring further streamlining by having these things prebaked into the platform. Some examples of how OddsMatrix helps sports betting operators automate their activity:
This way, bookmakers save time and resources and focus on other aspects of their business.
Data plays a significant role in today’s tech landscape – and nowhere is data’s impact more evident than in the sports betting market. Through data, bookmakers gain valuable insights and make informed decisions based on the most minute details.
But that’s just one facet of the data collection process. On the customer side, data can be employed to improve user experience and to provide customized offerings. Bookmakers can, for example, offer certain incentives for customers to return based on their level of activity on the platform.
The same goes for churned customers – creating customized incentives is a surefire way to prevent them from switching to the competition.
There’s a third aspect to data concerning the administrative side of running a sportsbook business. What’s more important is how it’s used – and products like OddsMatrix help bookmakers make the best out of their data. Here are a few features that bookmakers will find great value in:
Live betting (also known as in-live betting) is a type of gambling that allows players to place bets after a game has started. It’s an “adaptive” form of gambling – as players place the bets, odds change in response to the realities on the pitch.
While in-play betting has existed in one form or another for a while now, developments in recent years (social, political, and technological) have caused the demand for this type of gambling to explode. And it’s no wonder why in-live betting has become so popular. The prospect of placing bets throughout the game instead of solely before the game adds an additional strategic layer to betting for players.
As with any game that includes a live component, the underlying logistics are fairly complex. Aside from odds management systems, bookmakers need to equip their platforms with security measures to prevent fraud, cheating, and match-fixing.
OddsMatrix offers the following features for in-live betting:
OddsMatrix Bookmaker Feed – Provides bookmakers with fast and accurate access to new sports markets and a large number of events:
OddsMatrix Market Feed – Allows bookmakers to corroborate data from affiliates, media websites, and others and compare odds:
Security measures, such as powerful encryption algorithms prevent external parties from exploiting in-live betting for illegal profits.
While still not fully explored to its true potential, VR (Virtual Reality) and AR (Augmented Reality) are slated to gain more and more momentum in the gambling industry in the following years.
With the live dealers phenomenon already in full swing, it’s not hard to imagine VR and AR as the next logical step in the gambling industry’s long-term bid to provide customers with new and exciting interactive experiences.
While the industry is a long way from transitioning to a reliable VR model due to the high cost of entry – the average VR headset costs around $500 – AR has seen a higher adoption rate thanks to it being relatively easy to implement compared to VR.
Virtual reality and augmented reality may seem like gimmicks, but so did online gambling platforms in the 90s. Customers will always be looking for ways to spice up their favorite pastimes.
Are you ready to lead the sports betting industry and embrace the latest betting technology in your gambling business? OddsMatrix is the leading sportsbook data provider. If you’re looking for a solution to help you make smart, data-oriented decisions, look no further than OddsMatrix.
