ONLINE BETTING MARKET OVERVIEW
The online betting market has experienced significant growth over the last 10 years and this has been driven by increased personal disposal income, the influx of new technologies, the growth in the broadcast of live sport and high levels of innovation from betting companies.
Betting used to be the domain of traditional fixed odds bookmakers such as Ladbrokes, William Hill and Coral. The rise of online betting saw the advent of new ways to bet with sports spread betting companies, such as Sporting Index, and exchange betting companies, such as Betfair, leading the way. Combined with Asian handicaps, binary betting and line betting there has never been such an extensive choice in sports betting.
Whilst growth in betting has been spread across the UK population, most people who bet are young, middle aged men and are more likely to be 18 to 34 years old, although this can vary by the type of betting. Spread betting for example, is a more sophisticated form of betting and as a result tends to have a more affluent and slightly older profile. It has been suggested that the female betting market represent an opportunity for future market growth however there has been little evidence to suggest there will be significant increased interest from this sector – betting and sport remains largely a male dominated past-time.
Online betting has seen marked growth against higher income consumers from the ABC1 socio-economic group and it is anticipated that this growth will be maintained over the next few years. It is estimated that circa 60% of these people bet either via the phone or via the internet. In comparison, betting in shops is skewed to lower income groups from the DE sector.
The majority of online betting is conducted via a computer or laptop, however, whilst currently small, betting via mobile phones is showing strong growth. Mobile betting is now becoming a viable option as mobile networks and the quality of handsets improve. Whilst inconceivable only a few years ago, Sporting Index now offer a mobile spread betting service that allows people to see prices update in real time, place bets, view their bets and deposit funds. This provides increased convenience and enables people to bet while they are away from their PC or place online bets whilst they are at a sporting venue.
The explosion of live sport has coincided with shifts in the interest of individual sports and in many cases the betting on certain sports. Football betting has experienced significant growth as has rugby union betting, rugby league betting, cricket betting, tennis betting, golf betting and American football betting. This growth has come at the expense of other sports such as horse racing betting and a variety of minor sports such as greyhound betting or motor racing betting. Fragmentation of broadcast, general reduced coverage throughout the media and reduced levels of investment into certain sports have been contributory factors.
Betting companies have responded to the market trends and have significantly expanded the range of sports covered, the range of bets available and the ways to place bets. Sporting Index for example allow people to bet online, bet via the mobile phone and bet by telephone - almost every sport is catered for on a 24/7 basis. In-play betting (or in-running betting) has also been a major growth area and enables people to bet during a game and Sporting Index offer, for example, over 80 different types of in-play bets (or in-running bets) as part of its football betting service.
The rise of in-play betting (or in-running betting) has transformed online betting from simply placing a bet before an event on who is going to win, lose or draw. Online betting is moving ever closing to becoming “sports trading” where people trade bets during an event as teams’ or individuals’ own performance ebb and flow. Spread betting, for example, allows people to place bets during an event and close bets at anytime to take a profit or cut losses. People can trade any specific performance within a live match in the same way a share trader would buy and sell shares as a company’s performance fluctuated. From once being a passive past-time, sports betting (or “sports trading”) is now an increasingly involving form of entertainment.
People who place sports bets also have access to increasing amounts of data, statistical information and news via specialist online betting sites. Websites now provide the latest information on sports, teams and sportsmen to help shape betting opinions, types of online bets to place and where to access the best price or odds available.
The UK betting market has become highly competitive over the last few years as a result deregulation and the mature (or sophisticated) betting culture found in the UK. Betting companies have therefore become very sophisticated in recruiting new clients and in maintaining the loyalty of their clients. Free bets are now commonplace as a means to recruit people. New clients can claim free bets usually when they have met certain pre-defined terms and conditions. Special offers, promotions, competitions and hospitality at sporting events are tactics used to supplement free bet offers and retain the interest of clients. With the collapse of the US betting and Poker market, and increased regulation within other European states, it is anticipated that the UK online betting market will continue to experience increased competition. It is widely anticipated that this will lead to a flurry of merger and acquisition activity as competitors look to enhance their online betting and gaming portfolio.
Sustained growth is expected from online betting in the future. Live sport will continue to be broadcast in increasing volumes on digital television as well as experience growth via the PC and mobile phone. This will mean people will have world-wide access to live sport 24 hours a day, over a platform that fits in with lifestyle and day to day activities. Racing channels have led the way in providing dedicated and specialist content and this is envisaged to grow with an increasing number of channels being dedicated to certain sports. The content overlaid to these specialist broadcasts will help drive interest in online betting. Football, for example, has already seen a significant overlay of statistics and predictive analysis (pre match and at half time) and this stimulates viewer opinions and judgements about the outcome of the game which stimulates football betting activity.
Online betting has come a long way since the 1990’s. It is difficult to predict future trends however it is clear that online betting and sports betting have never been more popular. Sport is the dominant leisure past-time and topic of conversation, and as a result, online betting will continue to proliferate society and contribute to the daily sporting debates that take place.
Section 2: About Sporting Index
