The global sports betting market is huge. As per the Gartner report, it is estimated to be worth around $400 billion per year. Comprising 37% of the annual online gambling market share in Europe, it has become a rapidly growing sector of the global economy. This already popular industry owes its boon to new and unique advancements in technology, which have changed the nature of betting practices over the last decade and are continuing to do so.

The inception of real-time campaign management

Until recently, online sports betting followed a pretty standard structure: people placed their bets on a particular team or a result and then waited for the end of the match to see if they’ve won. Online betting companies then rolled out payments and incentives to those who’ve made the winning bets.

Of late, there has been a crucial integration of social and technological processes that have completely shaken up the conventional model of online betting; through what’s called ‘in-play betting.’

Simply said, this means that players can now put their bets on specific events occurring during a game or a sporting event that is already live. Some examples include free-throws in basketball, penalty kicks in football and foul balls in baseball, and more.

Earlier, online players were able to place just one bet during a game – on who is going to win. With in-play sports betting, the mechanics of betting have completely changed. Players can place a larger number of bets during a single sports game. With this, the nature of the market has changed from a discontinuous to a continuous one. Incentives are rolled out instantly and players now have more betting opportunities. This way, they have more chances to make the most of their money.

It’s a form of real-time engagement, where the odds are offered and bets are waged on games that are already underway. Betting companies make use of this engagement to roll out lucrative offers and deals to allow fans and players to test their hunches. Backed by a continuous and accurate flow of data and analyzing them constantly, companies roll out the right odds to players. All in a bid to make real-time betting an even more enjoyable experience.

This allows companies to send out real-time triggers as soon as a particular in-play event occurs. For example, during a soccer match, at half-time or when a team is on the goal-line, triggers can be rolled out to customers, thereby increasing the bids that a company gets during any sporting event.

What does this bring to the table?

In-play wagering helps those who have missed placing a bet before the games begin. With multiple betting options available during the game, like point spreads, alternative point spreads and totals available, companies can tap into a bigger market of online players.

Since the data is updated in real-time, the odds are more likely to be fair. This is crucial for online companies to gain the confidence of the players and help them place their bets strategically.

Additionally, bettors can play both sides of the game in an effort to “middle” the game. By having both sides of a point spread, they can maximize a win if the final score falls in the middle of the two bets.

In-play betting gives companies a crucial edge in curating accurate and relevant marketing campaigns. At different points of a game, different messaging can be sent out to different sets of users. Even more, with the help of a wide and segregated user database, contextual and appropriate offers and promotions can be sent out to a specifically targeted audience. Over time, as more comprehensive player profiles can be built-up and intelligent offers can be sent out to individual players.

It allows companies to track the high and low-points of a game. Upon analyzing, diverse marketing strategies are prepared to optimize each second of the playing time. This way, companies can make the most of their budgets and at the same time build a strong relationship with their users.

With more options to wage their bets, combined with accurate odds, in-play betting helps in acquiring new-users and increases the retention of existing players.

The way forward

At BizAcuity, we’ve helped one of our business partners make the transition to in-play betting. By customizing an efficient dashboard that rolls out incentives quickly, we have been able to enhance their customers’ engagement. In the process, we have realized that the advantages of in-play betting are paramount. That’s why it’s gaining great popularity among players today. With a more personalized approach and allowing betting companies to roll out different kinds of wagers to different kinds of audiences, studies show that in-play sports betting has the potential to be far more effective, lucrative, and safe. While opening up avenues for real-time campaigning, it allows betting companies and players to have a good time, while enforcing safe online playing behavior.