Innovation in sports is always important and helps it remain hugely popular. The launch of the XFL football league is a classic example of this and has seen it fuse forward-thinking ideas with football to plug the gaping hole left in the off-season once the NFL Superbowl has taken place.
Although betting on sports is nothing new, innovations in this area are another example of how sports as a sector loves to break new ground. Online wagering is a case in point, and being able to place bets online has really helped sports move with the times and the whole sports betting industry develop. Whether you like to use mobile betting apps or desktop sportsbooks, internet wagering is a real innovation. It has transformed how we bet on sports now.
But what other development could we start to see around betting on sports in 2022?
More variety in the betting offers
Sports betting bonuses and promo offers are brilliant innovation that has drawn more people into placing wagers on games. They have been around for a while now, and most sportsbooks will offer some kind of bonus to customers. As 2022 moves on, though, one step forward is a wider variety of offers and sportsbooks trying to really stand out for the ones they run.
Free bets are one way you could see this happening, and it wouldn’t surprise you to see more sportsbooks beginning to run with them in the future. We could also see each sportsbook running its own unique versions of free bets – with various amounts and sports being covered by the bets offered. In addition, many sportsbooks are starting to move past traditional promo details like matched or no deposit bonuses. As 2022 gets into its stride, you could well see more internet betting platforms use extras like free merch or even tickets to games as a way to innovate.
VR and AR could be seen more in 2022
Sports betting is pretty immersive anyway, but the greater adoption of AR/VR tech in 2022 could ramp this up several notches. If online sportsbooks were to build tech like this into their platforms, the experience you could have when betting would be genuinely awesome.
In terms of VR, for example, donning a headset could take you into virtual bookies where you can engage with other punters and interact with a virtual member of staff to put your bet on. With tech already in place to stream games/races, you may also be able to see your bet gets on in full VR glory! This is just a whole new experience compared to now betting on a laptop, mobile, or PC. AR could also bring a new level of immersion to betting on sports and make it even more fun. It might, for example, transpose a digital betting slip into the real world for you to fill out or let you engage with an AR character in real life when betting.
Cryptocurrencies could be big in 2022
Crypto has been pretty big for a few years in the casino and financial sector. For example, many casinos now will accept coins like Bitcoin as valid payment methods. They haven’t been seen too much in sports betting yet, but this could change in the coming 12 months.
With the noise made by digital currency in other areas, expect sportsbooks to adopt it as a payment method more and more as time passes. The greater adoption of crypto by sportsbooks online would be a real game-changer and make online wagering even faster and safer. In addition, it would allow people more choice in how they fund their account and enable them to bet exactly how they like.
2022 looks set to be a great year for innovation in sports betting
Sports betting has always been something people have loved to get involved with. Fans of the XFL, for example, will know how much extra fun it brings to games involving sides like LA Wildcats or Dallas Renegades. As with any modern industry, constant development and innovation are crucial to its enduring appeal. Over time, the sports betting sector has taken care to change with the times and give bettors what they want. This is no different in 2022, and the coming 12 months should see the above becoming something seen more and more to wow punters.
Sources:
What is the XFL, and how is it different from the NFL? – The Washington Post
Virtual Reality Defined & Use Cases | 3D Cloud by Marxent (marxentlabs.com)
