The Live in-Game Betting Issue

In recent years, live in-game betting throuighout the world has been gaining in popularity. The ability to sense the flow of game action and then bet in anticipation of the next result has proven to be very attractive to sports bettors in the U.S. Despite that popularity, there is mounting frustration that live in-game betting technology is lagging behind the demand for fast bet confirmations.

At a recent SBC summit of major sports betting operators in the U.S., Jay Croucher, the director of trading at PointsBet, outlined some of the challenges the online sports betting community faces with live in-game betting. To make his point, he offered some startling data related to the popularity of this betting option.

In one instance, he pointed out that “Three years ago in-play handle was 30 percent of overall handle at PointsBet [in America]. Now it’s closer to 60 percent, and we expect it to rise. Looking at more mature markets like Europe, we’re definitely on track to get to the 70-80 percent market.”

Next, he took a look at a specific sports betting market. When betting on tennis, sports bettors don't have much interest in betting on Rafael Nadal to win an early-round match at odds of -1000. What they do have an interest in is wagering on set or game outcomes while the game is in action. According to Croucher, 90% of the sports bets made through PointsBet on tennis matches are made as live in-match wagers. That's a significant number that warrants scrutiny.

The Communications Issue

The frustration that is mounting among sports bettors is due to communication and timing issues. When a bettor wants to place an in-game wager, they have a very narrow window of opportunity to do so. Sometimes, that window is only open for a few seconds.

The frustration is created when there are time lags between when bets are placed and confirmed. Far too many wagers are made and declined because the bet has closed or the line has changed. When bettors start chasing lines to get a wager during a break in the action, it drives them to the point of giving up. That's a loss in potential revenue for the bookmakers.

The answer to this question lies in technology. Someone, software developers need to innovate a live in-game betting platform that offers instantaneous responses to wager requests.

In Europe, bookmakers have been fighting this battle for years while not really getting any closer to resolution. With that said, the race is on to find the right technology.

There is a presumption that live in-game betting could soon be the driving force within the sports betting community. That's only going to happen when sports bettors are getting the responses they want when they want them.

Ultimately, bettors want easy access and fast response times. If they can get that, there is a chance that online sports betting revenue throughout the U.S. could see a significant rise in connection to satisfied live in-game sports bettors.