MOBILE SPORTS WAGERING
Big bets T
Sean Chaffin explores how mobile sports wagering is fuelling the growth of the industry
he Denver Broncos may have been a winner for many Super Bowl 50 bettors in 2016, but it was Nevada casinos that cleaned up – with a record $132.5 million wagered on the game within the state. That
total topped the previous record of $119 million in 2014 and meant a $13 million haul for the state’s casinos and sports books.
And as controversy rages in the U.S. over the
legality of daily fantasy sports and sports wagering – modern technology is making it easier and easier to book a bet on that next football or basketball game. Whether through a legal online sports book in Nevada or placing a wager using an offshore gambling service, more and more Americans are embracing sports wagering via mobile devices – a trend that continues worldwide and is driving growth.
Numbers game While Americans have begun to embrace mobile
wagering with the complete proliferation of mobile phones and devices, the country has had to play a bit of catch-up compared to the rest of the world.
“Mobile sports wagering is very successful
internationally, particularly in Europe but it is still gathering momentum in the U.S.,” says Gene Johnson, executive vice president of Victor Strategies with over 27 years of experience in the gaming industry including technology, market research, strategic planning, and casino marketing.
Johnson says mobile betting has strong growth in the U.S., but has lagged a bit behind the global gaming industry.
“In legal U.S. jurisdictions such as Nevada the initial 30 OCTOBER 2016
priority was to establish the capabilities and ensure that the platforms and their various elements (geo-fencing, player protection protocols, and deposit and withdrawal) all functioned, and were secure,” he says. “Only recently has the U.S. industry been able to turn its attention to implement seamless mobile applications and I expect that aspect to continue to grow.”
According to H2 Gambling Capital, a leading gaming and data consulting firm, sports betting is the largest single segment of global interactive wagering, making up as much as 48 percent of all Internet betting revenue. On a global perspective, the number of wagers made on a mobile device is staggering, with 72 percent of all bets placed within the sports betting segment coming from mobile devices.
In Nevada, mobile sports wagering may be catching up with the rest of the world, but the upward trend is certainly evident and leading the way for the growth of sports wagering in the state.
“From what I’ve seen, it’s had a significant impact, with bigger numbers often being attributed, at least in part, to the proliferation of mobile wagering,”
LasVegasAdvisor.com publisher and casino expert Anthony Curtis says. “Almost all of the big companies now have a platform, with Caesars properties being the notable exception.”
Within the state, five operators offered mobile
wagering in 2014, which expanded to nine in 2015. The Nevada Gaming Control Board only expects this number to grow. Current mobile operators include Station Casinos, Gaughan South Point, Boyd Gaming, Peppermill Hotel Casino, Aliante Casino Hotel, Atlantis Casino Resort, Treasure Island, CG Technology, and William Hill.
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