Do you ever sit back and admire the huge impact technology has had on sports fans betting online? It’s quite remarkable, and if you gambled during the time of land-based bookies and casinos, you’d know what we’re driving at here. If you were born into online gambling, the chances are this article may seem odd or even amusing.
Technology plays a huge part in modern life, and its influence grows stronger by the day. From the moment we wake up, humans are in contact with technology. The alarm sounding on your smartphone helps you rise for the day ahead. Check your social media messages, and then take a quick shower.
Then comes the horrible commute to work. Or does it? Many employees can now complete their tasks from home, logging in remotely using a desktop computer. The working-from-home era was ushered in by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and has stuck around ever since.
It’s what’s now known as the new normal. Big business has embraced the changes, enjoying more productive and happier staff while saving on renting office blocks in prime locations.
From coffee to betting: Times are changing
How do we pay for our morning coffee? Just like almost everything else in life, you have options. Keep it traditional and pay in cash or cover the cost with a quick tap of your debit or debit card. If you live in the city, paying for goods using crypto is possible. Our daily routines are as far removed from that of our parents as could be imagined.
Some jobs still can’t be done remotely, at least for now. The building trade is an obvious example of this. As is healthcare, sport, and transport, for obvious reasons. But one industry that has flourished in these conditions is the online gambling sector. Working from home has allowed major bookmakers to attract the top performing professionals from other business areas, including journalism and accounts.
On the other side of the counter, sports bettors can’t get enough of technology, either. The process of placing a bet has changed beyond all recognition to how it was 15 – 20 years ago. It has come on immeasurably in the last five years alone. Understanding how tech plays a part in the gambling industry helps you pinpoint the areas you can enjoy and any gaps that can be exploited.
There can be no denying technological advancements have improved the gambling experience, and there’s more to come. We live in exciting times for the industry, and there’s no ceiling on how far tech can take sportsbook and casino betting. But for now, we detail our five favorite ways betting has improved over the last few years.
We also explain how you can take advantage to increase your chances of beating the bookies and making a profit, all without ever visiting a high-street betting office.
The dark days of gambling
You may recall the dark days of gambling on sports, but if you weren’t around at the time or were too young to witness an industry dominated by betting at betting offices, this will seem strange.
To understand how far we’ve come in any walk of life or business, it’s important first to look back and appreciate the journey. Knowing where we’ve come from and the time taken to get to where we are now helps predict which direction we may be headed.
Here’s the process of placing a sports bet in 2000…
- Collect your wallet and leave the house.
- Journey to the nearest convenient high street betting office.
- Enter the building and take a paper bet slip and a tiny pen from the dispenser screwed to the wall.
- Write down your bet, including fixture, market, selection, odds, and stake.
- Take your bet slip to the counter and pay for your bet in cash. The employee will scan the ticket, keeping one copy and handing you the other.
- You can leave the shop and return home to watch the race, match or fight on TV.
- If your bet was a winner, it was off back to the bookie’s office to trade your paper copy for the returns due.
Here’s the process of placing a sports bet two decades later…
- Use face recognition technology on your smartphone to log in to your betting account.
- Click the sport, competition, fixture, and odds of your selection to add it to the bet slip.
- Input the required stake and confirm. The funds will then be taken from your debit card, and the bet confirmed.
- That’s it. If you’re a winner, the profits will be automatically sent to your account balance.
Mobile betting
Today, more bets are placed using smartphones than at land-based bookmakers and bookies’ websites combined. Sports backers love the convenience of gambling at the touch of a button.
You only need a mobile betting app, a reliable Wi-Fi connection, and available data. You can then wager on what you want, where, and when you want. You are in complete control of every aspect of your gambling experience. That has helped bring the thrill of betting to a new audience in the millions.
Fancy getting involved and seeing how tech has changed betting online? Follow the steps below…
- Choose your bookmaker and visit the homepage to get started.
- Click the Join or Register button and complete the registration form, providing the necessary details.
- Create a username and password that is memorable to you but not so obvious that it could be easily guessed or hacked.
- Make your first deposit and place a bet.
- You will receive a welcome bonus free bet for your troubles.
In-play
Twenty years ago, you could not get involved if you missed the start of a Saturday fixture list from the English Premier League. If the game kicked off at 15:00 and you approached the counter with your bet slip at 15:01, it was a harsh lesson as your gamble would be rejected.
That’s comical now, with bookmakers accepting bets on a soccer match often days in advance and up to the final whistle thanks to in-play betting. You can wager on a match after it has started as an in-play trader monitors the game and updates their odds accordingly.
Watch the game closely on TV and stay alert for any hints, tips, or clues. You can then place a bet while the game is in full flight with the click of a button. That led to a huge rise in the number of bets struck on soccer.
Live streaming
What if you are on the move – perhaps at work – but your favorite horse is running, and you will miss it in action? Fear not, as bookies have you covered again. The live-streaming feature perfectly shows how far gambling has evolved in the last few years.
Place a bet on the outcome of a horse race – or any other major sporting event – and watch through an HD-quality live stream. This can be done on your mobile, allowing you to turn everyday scenarios into a chance to watch live sports. Never again will you be forced to check an online results service to see if your pick won or lost.
In addition to a faultless live stream that is as good quality as you’d hope to find with any major television broadcaster, there are other great benefits. These include expert commentary, edgy camera angles, live scores, updated standings, predictions, and in-play betting odds. In short, it has everything you need in one place to enjoy the fixture.
Odds comparison
Suppose you entered a betting office, and the horse you wanted to back was being offered at odds of +500. Is that competitive? There was only one way to find out: visit several other betting offices to find the most generous quote. But no more.
Now a betting odds comparison app shows the odds offered on your pick by all major sportsbooks, with the most generous in bold. That’s the bookie you should gamble with, and it takes seconds to find the standout odds. All this can be done on your smartphone.
Securing the market’s best price each time you gamble could make the difference between making a profit and suffering a loss. The margins may seem small, but they soon add up over a year or season.
Promotions
There was once a time when it was us vs. them. Bettors wanted to gamble on their favorite teams, while bookies wanted to separate us from our hard-earned cash. Did a bookie offer short odds? Tough luck. Was there a need for more exciting markets? That’s a shame. They held the purse strings, and there wasn’t much we could do about it, but times have changed.
Online gambling has become so competitive over the last few years that bookies are bending over backwards to win your custom. Before they can do that, they must stand out from the crowd, and that’s not easy, especially with so many other apps trying to do the same.
The most successful apps attract players by offering a welcome bonus free bet. You can claim your share by choosing the bookie you wish to bet with and clicking any link to that sportsbook on this website.
