The rampant rise of online bookmakers has contributed to an accelerated decline of betting shops. Over the last few years, more and more people are shifting from traditional betting shops to gambling online. Sports betting websites and online casinos have become more popular, hence, the speculation that betting offices may soon become obsolete. This article will look into the future of betting shops and the various trends in online betting.
The Future of Betting Shops
Betting shops were made legal in the UK by the 1960 Betting and Gaming Act. The laws were officially enacted on May 1, 1961, upon which there was a rapid opening of betting shops. Betting shops were opening at an estimated rate of 100 shops weekly and by the late 1970s, more than 15,000 betting shops were operational across the UK.
Most betting shops are small-scale and often lack additional services and games to engage their customers; these limitations are among the reasons for their waning. UK bookmakers statistics indicate that almost 1,000 betting shops closed down between 2012 and 2019 with William Hill being one of them.
Certain bands of betting shops, such as Paddy Power and William Hill, are now putting in more effort to retain or attract more customers. However, with the increasing popularity of online gambling, more betting shops are likely to shut down.
Online Betting Sites
Online betting sites have an upper hand over traditional betting shops because they offer all the services available in betting shops and more. These sites allow users more betting opportunities; they also have bonuses and promotions that help boost the customers’ winnings or offer extra cash.
Moreover, unlike traditional betting shops, most online betting services operate online casinos. This allows their visitors the opportunity to play their preferred casino games online including live games, video slots and classic casino table games. Correspondingly, many online casinos have started providing sports betting services, availing even more content for punters.
Online betting services are easily accessible from any internet-connected device, be it a smartphone, computer, laptop or a tablet device. Therefore, there are no time restrictions: You can play whenever you want to, however you want to, no matter where you are. This is advantageous since there is no need to leave your house and personally visit a betting shop to gamble.
Trends in Online Gambling
Changes in technology have transformed the online betting industry in the past few years. The future of online gambling depends on better technology and faster internet connection speeds. The following are some online betting trends likely to continue in the near future:
Multiple Account Betting
One can access hundreds of betting sites with online betting, unlike in traditional betting where punters had one favorite bookie, most likely the one closest to one’s residence. Due to stiff competition, many online bookmakers offer free bet offers and high-value bonuses upon registration and frequent reward offers. Therefore, punters usually shop around different betting sites for the best offers available. To maximize their chances of winning, gamblers can place multiple bets with different bookies based on the odds or offers.
Live In Play Betting
Mobile betting and faster internet connection speeds have enabled punters to place bets live in play during the games. Faster algorithms facilitate instant calculation of odds without having to rely on odds traders. Consequently, online bookmakers are able to avail more markets and punters can bet on actions that take place within seconds.
More Sports and Markets
The internet has increased access to information, leading to a rise in the popularity of smaller sports and virtual reality games. Therefore, people are now betting on more market types and sports than before. This is likely to continue increasing with swifter connection speeds and better gaming technologies, since these sports are predominantly streamed over the internet.
Mobile Betting
Gamblers do not have to use desktop machines to place their bets anymore; one can bet using any internet connected device. Being able to place a bet from any place at any time has enabled punters to wait till closer to the event to place their bets.
Cash Out
Online betting allows gamblers to cash out their wagers before the end of an event. This allows you to decide the most suitable moment to cash out your bet. This feature is essential in risk mitigation and can be highly profitable if used correctly.
Specialist Betting Sites
Many online bookmakers offer manifold products such as casino, poker, games, financial and exchange segments. This offers punters a variety of options, but also increases the size and complexity of these betting sites. Therefore, there is a budding trend of specialist betting sites designed to offer a single type of betting.
Increased Streaming
There is an increasing tendency of people to watch games online rather than through television. This is because online streaming provides access to a wide variety of sports and games. Consequently, there is an increase in the number of online bookmakers that stream various sports, since most clients now fancy betting while watching.
