Let’s Talk About Sports Betting…
Joe Johnson
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Sports betting is a form of gambling that has become a phenomenon across timeliness. It is estimated that both legal and illegal sports gambling industry is worth anywhere between $700 billion and $1 trillion, a figure that to rise significantly by 2022. This means that sports betting regardless of a myriad of legal issues in different countries across the world is not going anywhere any time soon.
According to Sportradar, an organization that is tasked with monitoring betting and dealing with suspicious betting activities, people around the world bet on the outcome of various sports. However, football takes a huge chunk of the market share with 70% of the trade coming from this world’s most dominant game.
Is betting a new trend in the sporting industry?
Since you see people betting on their smartphones (which were invented not so long ago), you might be tempted to believe that this ordeal is a modern sensation. But you are wrong! Some records show sports betting began about nine decades ago. The only difference is that the technology back then was not as advanced as the one used today. Fans used to fill weekly coupons and predict the outcome of the games played on weekends with the hope of winning cash prizes.
To prove this fact, Viv Nicholson, who hailed from the UK won a mega jackpot of 5 million dollars in 1961.
Until a buzz was created around digital betting in the recent years, people have been playing the pools on a weekly basis, with data showing that over 3 billion dollars have been paid to more than 61 million people over the past ninety years.
Technology – the rise of contemporary sport betting
Today, you don’t have to fill weekly pools to win a game that will be played on Saturday. The development of the internet and smart mobile devices has come as a game changer in the world of sports betting. They have made this undertaking more accessible and enjoyable among different generations.
Additionally, the satellite television has made it easy for people to watch live matches at the comfort of their vicinity, further increasing their interest in betting.
Other technologies such as ‘in-running’ betting which allows punters to stake some bucks when a game is in progress have added fun to this undertaking, increasing the popularity of sports betting even further.
Illegal betting throughout the world
In some parts of the world, the law doesn’t allow any form of sports betting. This has prompted the rise of illegal betting, which takes place even in countries where betting is allowed.
In some countries such as Singapore, you can bet at a pool store, but you will be on the wrong side of the law if you are found betting online. This means that laws governing this type of gambling are different; thus it is crucial to understand laws in your country before you engage in sports betting.
Illegal betting, which includes match-fixing offers better odds, and makes potential winning super-attractive; hence luring millions of people to engage in the vice.
Is sports betting taking over the world?
In the era we are in today, there are dozens of sports betting companies located in different parts of the world. In fact, there are reports that there is a company offering these services even in countries where this vice is prohibited. The global online gambling market is seen to be rising fast, with its net worth growing significantly over the past few years. According to statistical, this market was worth slightly over $20 billion in 2009, figures which doubled by the beginning of 2018.
If you thought that sports betting concentrates on countries found in America, Asia, and Europe, you are wrong. According to Geopoll, gambling has become increasingly popular among young people in sub-Saharan Africa. The poll found out that about 54% of millennials in this part of the world has tried sports betting. Kenya, in particular, has recorded the highest number of young people engaged in betting leading with 76%, Uganda comes second with 56%, and Ghana third with 42%.
Africa has also seen a rise of super-profitable betting companies such as SportPesa, a Kenyan-based company that has sponsored one of the EPL champions – Everton.
It goes without saying – sports betting industry is one of the most lucrative entities in the world. The rise of global online betting has made it easy for this type of gambling to transverse the world easily. If the statistics and the level of sponsorships and CSR activities we see sports betting companies engaging in, we can confidently say they are undisputed profiteers who are changing the global business sphere.
Take Home point
Sport betting companies use prominent sportsmen and women who have passed the personality & IQ test to advertise their business, which further lures people to bet even more. That said, the world could be gradually turning into a sports betting empire. Governments, therefore, need to put regulations in place to enhance sanity and place an age limit in the vice to mitigate addiction among underage members of the society.