By the end of this year, it is forecast that 164 million sports fanatics around the world will be using their smartphone and tablet devices to access online bookmakers to place bets on their favourite teams and players. The mobile sports betting sector is quickly overtaking traditional sportsbooks found in local communities. In 2016, SkyBet revealed that 80% of its total revenues came from stakes bet via mobile devices.
This would appear to tally with a report from the European Gaming & Betting Association (EGBA) which says that sports betting accounts for 75% of all mobile gross revenues. The EGBA also states that up to 85% of all sports bets placed via land-based sports-books and mobile apps worldwide are on football. Nevertheless, betting on the NFL is also becoming big business either side of the Atlantic. In the United States, more than $100 billion is expected to be wagered on the outcome of NFL games this season, including the 2018 Super Bowl. However, NFL’s popularity is rising fast in the United Kingdom too. Since 2007, the UK has hosted at least one NFL regular season game and for the 2017 campaign it secured as many as four matches on British soil. A William Hill spokesman confirmed to ESPN that the number of British punters who bet on the NFL had risen 40% year-on-year in 2014, with that figure almost certainly growing in recent years.
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With smartphone and tablet ownership and usage at record levels on a global scale, it’s unsurprising that the launch of dedicated sports betting apps has increased the accessibility of sports markets to casual and professional punters alike. In fact, many of the leading sportsbooks such as bet365 have developed like-for-like applications suitable for Android and iOS devices, ensuring a consistent betting experience for sports fans. Furthermore, the increased number of sports bettors has seen a huge increase in the number of markets that people can bet on. In football, people can now bet on the number of corner kicks in a match or how many people will be sent off by the referee. In American football, it’s no longer all about the moneyline bets. Alternative markets allow fans to bet on specific quarters and individual team points totals. With talk of a London-based NFL franchise in the offing, NFL sports betting markets could be even more lucrative for online sportsbooks in the years to come.
As the accessibility of sports betting apps continues to expand, so too does the types of sports and events one can bet on. From the outcome of political referendums to eSports competitions featuring the world’s top professional video gamers, these emerging betting markets are also becoming big business. In fact, betting volume on eSports now surpasses traditional sports such as golf, rugby and Formula 1. A number of online sportsbooks are also offering virtual sports betting markets, which allow punters to bet on the outcome of virtual matches – the outcome of which is decided by a computer algorithm.
On the whole, the global sports betting market is forecast to expand at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 9% between now and 2022, according to new research from Technavio, with 24/7 mobile apps set to continue to lead the growth charge.