Top Sports Betting Trends in 2021

With the pandemic still at large, casino/casinó sports betting has suffered quite a bit of damage since some of the events were cancelled. While the industry has slowed down, new trends and technology keep emerging, providing a better and better experience for punters. Sports betting still remains the biggest source of revenue for gambling. Even with the pandemic present, the industry has noted a record year, making $1.5 billion in the US alone, and leaving $240 million in treasuries. So, without further ado, here are the top trends to look out for in 2021.

Leveraging data

With the growth of the internet, tremendous amounts of data became readily available at everybody’s fingertips. Current technology can analyse huge databases to gather insights within multiple industries. Sports betting is no different. Bettors, as well as bookmakers, use Big Data to place stakes on the most probable wagers, and conversely, bookmakers use it to set the odds. 

The use of machine learning is prominent, too, especially among providers, allowing them to calculate the best odds and provide bettors with the best casino bonus/kaszinó bónusz.

On the other hand, punters can take advantage of such algorithms to devise a betting system that’s entirely based on data, though bookmakers soon spot such players and make sure that their success is diminished. Betting providers are unfair in this case. As soon as they spot somebody who’s winning more consistently than they’d like, they resort to discriminative methods such as limiting the amount of money you can bet. Still, some algorithms were able to score as much as a 77% win rate.

There’s a rising trend of player tracking, too, whereby bettors can track a player’s activity in real-time. The information mostly regards their training routines and fitness stats which can prove to be useful when predicting the results of individual players.

Growth of eSports

Sports betting took a hit due to the pandemic, but one particular sports discipline got to thrive in these conditions. I’m talking about eSports, quite a new industry whose growth is unprecedented. Millions of spectators gather in front of their computer screens to watch the best of the best compete for equally large prizes, measured in millions of dollars. The fact that eSports’ audience is are mostly teenagers and young adults only contributes to the growth. New fans are constantly getting more interested in eSports, and with them, the betting industry grows. 

As such, there’s a prominent issue of youngsters betting on their favourite teams while under 18 years old. No country has yet established legislation for eSports betting, and it’s still within a grey area, which leads to problems. At the same time, the considerable growth won’t stop, no matter if the pandemic ends.

With eSports, the trend of virtual sports betting is also surging. Instead of wagering on their favourite teams, which are real, punters choose to bet on preprogrammed events based on data.

Betting automation

Bettors resort to technology to maximise their effectiveness. To waste less time on placing bets manually, they choose to automate this process. By creating rule-based strategies, they’re able to bet on fixed conditions that correspond with their normal strategy. That way, punters are able to place their bets on odds that weren’t yet adjusted, making better profits.

More live streams

While live streams have been utilised for years now, many bookmakers improve their service by including more and more live transmissions of even the most niche events. Multiple providers have added a feature of live betting to their platforms. Live streams facilitate that with an on-demand screening of matches. The experience is vastly improved due to the fact that you can bet as you watch, providing you with additional chances of winning. The times when you had to watch matches on TV or looking for a sketchy online stream are long gone, as bookmakers make sure that their live streams are in compliance with the licensing and of sufficient quality.

Last-minute betting

With the increasingly busy lives that people have, last-minute betting is often the best way of wagering. Most websites currently facilitate that process by allowing to place bets minutes before the match ends remotely. Still, this feature isn’t only useful to the busy punters. New bettors who can’t decide on who or what to bet on until the last minutes can utilise that, too. Technology is at such a high level that last-minute betting is pretty much on every major bookmaker’s offer.

Cryptocurrencies

With the rise of blockchain technology, bookmakers slowly but surely adopt this technology as one of their payment methods. Cryptocurrencies ensure secure payments and instant transactions, which makes betting all the comfortable. Bettors remain completely anonymous, which is an added bonus for anyone who’s trying to protect their online profile incognito.

Big events making a comeback

Postponed Tokyo Olympics in the summer of 2021, European Soccer Championships, and the recent return of NBA and MLB mean that it’s going to be an exciting year for sports betting. Everything seems to be returning to normal, and we can expect a significant surge in revenues generated by the industry.