The online gambling industry has been on the rise for over a whole decade. Thanks to the growth of the mobile market, and more internet providers a solid infrastructure for the online gambling market was created.
There are different ways how certain regulations categorize these activities, but generally speaking, we can all agree that these are 3 essential categories. Out of these 3 categories, sports betting is the fastest-growing segment. So, let’s see what makes it more appealing compared to other online gambling activities.
PROMOTING ONLINE SPORTS GAMBLING
Sports and gambling have always been closely connected, as many who watch sports also love to wager on their favourite team. Since football is the most popular sport on the planet most gambling companies are interested in sponsoring various teams.
These sponsors are really active in countries like the Netherlands, where soccer has a massive fan base. Moreover, the Netherlands recently legalized online casinos, so it’s possible that some of these new operators will appear as sponsors for their soccer league.
🔝 2021 Champions League calendar year top scorers:
⚽️1⃣1⃣ Robert Lewandowski
⚽️1⃣0⃣ Mohamed Salah
⚽️1⃣0⃣ Sébastien Haller
⚽️1⃣0⃣ Kylian Mbappé
⚽️0⃣9⃣ Riyad Mahrez#UCL pic.twitter.com/D7NIR3XUrJ— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) December 21, 2021
Even though a lot of these casino sites are popular, not all of them offer sports betting options. It’s also true that operators who specialize in sports wagering don’t host casino games, and there is a reason for this divide.
SPORTS BETTING VS ONLINE CASINO GAMES
We already said how online gambling can be divided into 3 categories, and this is extremely important when it comes to legal issues. Regulators don’t view these gambling activities equally, and some are more controversial compared to others.
⚖️ @SevillaFC_ENG and @FCBarcelona end the year with a draw. 🤝#SevillaFCBarça highlights. ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/pl4kf2woUl
— LaLiga English (@LaLigaEN) December 21, 2021
As a result sports betting is legal in more countries compared to online casino games. Canada is an example of a country that has more liberal laws, and that allows its citizens to gamble on foreign sites. In other words, casino apps that are available to Canadians are either from Malta, the UK, Curacao, or another region where operating an online casino is legal. Online sports betting businesses are legal in Canada, but the wagering options are more limited.
The point being, the reason this gambling activity performs better is that it’s more accessible and because sports are generally popular all over the world.
NORTH AMERICA: FASTEST GROWING MARKET
Even if online wagering is only available in several states the US market continues to grow. They do have federal laws that restrict cross-border online casino gaming, but daily fantasy sports are exempt from that law. As a result, DFS apps are really profitable in the US and are currently dominating the market.
The beauty of these games is that they are available even when there aren’t any sports events. Moreover, they allow users to customize their teams and play against one another which makes the whole experience more entertaining.
INNOVATION
Finally, sports betting marketing is highly competitive and operators really need to up their game in order to win over more players. As a result, there has been a lot of innovation that resulted in more exciting wagering options and a better user experience. Today we even have live betting which makes the whole spectating process more interactive.
Additionally, operators offer tons of bonuses for the new users, which increases activity across all of the platforms. A single user might have multiple accounts in order to take advantage of these promotions, and in order to see who offers better odds for specific events.
Blink and you'll miss them 👀 pic.twitter.com/gWJuO3HxBz
— Premier League (@premierleague) December 21, 2021
In all likelihood, this sector of the gambling market will continue to grow. For starters, it’s far more convenient for the fans to place their wagers online rather than go in person. They also have more options and they can easily compare multiple operators in order to figure out where betting will make the most sense.
Even if some events like horse racing are dropping in popularity, we have a whole new category of the competition called eSports. Gaming tournaments are a source of a whole new audience, and more young people are now placing bets on their favourite eSports teams.