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The sports gambling industry is booming — so much so that it occupies a 70% share of the global gambling market. If you’re not familiar with it, to cut a long story short it involves predicting the outcome of a sporting event, placing money on this prediction and, if you’re right, receiving a return on your initial bet. There are two main spheres — online sports betting and offline — and you can bet on a range of events, including football, horse racing, boxing and more. Like many other things, sports betting has really taken off, thanks to the internet and the development of online betting sites.
An industry on the rise
Just this spring alone, US citizens spent a whopping $8.5 billion betting on a single sport: college basketball. The legalization of sports betting in the US spared many of the gamblers, a trek all the way to Las Vegas to bet on the action. Despite the initial objection to sports betting from organizations such as the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball, several have come around to the idea and are looking at the commercial opportunities the legalization brings. It’s not just about sponsorship, but also about the chance to engage even more with fans.
Forecasters predict that by 2024, the industry will have grown to $155.49 billion, a truly staggering figure, but not altogether unrealistic. Gambling service operators are often looking to expand or improve their offering or to grow as a company. This is especially true of major players 888 Holdings Plc and William Hill, who have met up for talks about potential takeovers in the past but not been able to reach an agreement (much to the disappointment of their shareholders).
Incidents like this haven’t put off 888 Holdings from pursuing other growth interests, though. Earlier this year, the company bought the Irish sports betting platform BetBright. Towards the end of last year, they acquired the remaining share of their joint venture company in the US, the All American Poker Network (AAPN). The original venture came about so that 888 could launch its business to consumer (B2C) brands in the online gaming market there. Now they have full control of their growth strategy in the US.
The breakdown of talks also didn’t put William Hill off seeking to expand. In October 2018, the bookmaking giant made an offer equivalent to $308 million for Swedish-listed Mr Green & Co. With Brexit creating some uncertainty in the UK gambling market, the company is looking to expand both its digital business offering and its European operations.
William Hill are wise to venture further into the digital sphere. The internet has changed sports betting massively and created clear opportunities for growth. Mobile gaming is huge because of the convenience it offers players and is likely to get even bigger. The combination of technological development and major changes in legislation mean the US now offers significant potential for sports betting companies. Even though we see two main spheres of sports betting, the online sphere is likely to dominate as people become more and more aware of what operator have to offer.
