Much has been made of sports betting's need to innovate.
Industry wide, suppliers and operators alike have spoken to Gambling Insider about a lack of variety for years.
It is true we've seen enhancements in how players bet – primarily bet builders, as well as microbetting, super boosts, cash out and the like. Appearance and experience wise, though, we have been looking at a very similar product for the last couple of decades.
Now, given advancements in technology that allow for greater personalisation than ever, combined with the demand for gamification and entertainment value, I have a simple question: should that really still be the case?
In recent months, sports betting CEOs have told me the industry has seen "evolution but not yet revolution;" they've compared sportsbook layouts to complex Wall Street trading interfaces; and they've said that, fundamentally, the landscape of the sector has not truly changed.
Bettors, en masse, eventually end up at the same big-name operators, seeing a layout they are all too familiar with.
The typical sportsbook experience
Indeed, the very biggest brands know exactly what they're doing. Their price boosts attract players with a clear element of risk management in the odds offered. Bet builders are available across all major sports, while in-play markets are provided with extreme rapidity, whether it is the Champions League final or action from the Mongolian Basketball League.
The offering itself, therefore, is not in question. But what about how the typical sports bettor is able to find it?
Today's sports fans have become far more interested in individual players. In the US, players are often followed closer than teams themselves. And, if a key player is in action, sports betting volumes are guaranteed to go up.
People want to bet on Mohamed Salah and even veterans like Jamie Vardy, and their goals, assists and shots on target. Yet, with the sportsbooks of today, that either takes several clicks or lengthy scrolling. Both of those practices are already more than the casual customer will be accustomed to on non-betting platforms (like Netflix, for example).
Modern athletes can attract more engagement than the teams they represent. Should sportsbooks present their player markets better, making them easier to navigate?
The top sports betting operators have in-play AI recommendation engines that will highlight the most popular players and markets but these, too, end up somewhat hidden a few rows down.
The underutilisation of player line-ups
There may, however, be a straightforward solution to these drawbacks.
In a team sport, the first thing many want to see is the team sheet. Who is playing, who can affect the outcome and who can they get better odds on when Real Madrid or the Kansas City Chiefs are the heavy favourite in the 1X2 market?
Sportsbooks do show such line-ups but, once again, they are usually buried a few clicks in. Some platforms even offer the chance to select individual players to bring up player-related markets – and this is exactly the type of innovation that can drive sports betting forward.
But it should be front and centre – not a hidden treasure.
Opening a match with an interactive team sheet (presented with the team's usual formation) would rally engagement levels, providing a superior visual stimulus.
Once you hover over a player, immediate options could be presented in a spider diagram format: Salah to score a goal, Derrick Henry to score a touchdown, Steph Curry to score 25 points.
With real-time data and AI assistance, sportsbooks could produce the most popular options for specific players instantly: those who regularly make tackles, those who regularly commit fouls and a subsequent whole new world of options.
And why limit the availability of this method to when the starting line-ups are actually announced just before a game? Sportsbooks could offer fixed dropdowns of every player that could fill a position all week long.
Imagine a sportsbook that used interactive, visually appealing offerings as soon as a bettor clicked into a match?
The above is closer to what betting on players looks like on current sportsbooks. Bettors accept this as the standard they are used to – but is table after table really the best we can offer as an industry?
Modernisation and engagement tools
With this type of strategy, no existing sportsbook elements will be removed; no major overhaul is needed. The in-depth lists of markets you have to scroll to the bottom of the page for? They will still be there. The option to bet on which team wins a match? It can be featured at the very top of the line-up graphic.
Players can still be directed to the biggest offers, perhaps even more efficiently than before.
Social elements can be incorporated, too, like symbols or emojis next to players that have been earmarked for an odds boost. Some operators already use symbols to indicate when certain bets are trending – but this, again, is an area they can do far more with.
It was in 2022 that we first heard the phrase 'Tiktokification of sports betting.' And, while that may sound like a cheapening of what betting represents, its underlying ethos is clear: consumers want the best options available immediately and right in front of them.
With today's emphasis on personalisation, and the tools available via AI, placing greater emphasis on an easy-to-use, visually appealing offering should at the very least be a worthwhile experiment, and at most a game-changer for all of sports betting.
Or am I getting ahead of myself?
