The Hidden Sportsbook Tech that Can Aid Your Betting
Posted by Harry Kane on Friday, June 21, 2024
From the so-called “sport of kings” (horse racing) to football, sports betting remains inherently popular in the UK. In fact, these two sports dominate the marketplace on these shores, although disciplines such as golf, tennis and boxing are also incredibly popular among bettors.
Of course, sports betting engagement and wagering volumes have increased markedly during the digital age. This is thanks largely to the fact that players can now access a diverse array of markets across sports, leagues and tournaments from the across the globe, all from the comfort of their own home (or while on the move).
A Brief Introduction to Sportsbooks and Betting Sites in the UK
Sportsbooks have been around for more than two decades now, particularly in developed and mature markets like the US and UK. These entities now dominate the global sports betting market, as a growing number of bettors continue to wager almost exclusively online. In the UK, remote betting sites have thrived and evolved since the passing of the 2005 Gaming Act.
There are thousands of licenced remote betting sites accessible globally, many of which operate in the lucrative UK market by virtual of accreditation from the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). These sites are renowned for their depth of market coverage, while they also feature a wide selection of responsible gambling tools.
However, the chances are that you’re unaware of many key features and technologies available through online sportsbooks, many of which can have a highly positive impact on your betting experience and potential profitability. These can influence the way in which you construct bets and recognise patterns in your decision making, delivering incremental benefits over time.
But what are the hidden features and technologies that can help you to improve your chances of success when betting online? Here are just a few prominent examples to keep in mind as an online punter!
1. Account History and Bet Tracking
If you go to the ‘My Account’ section when logged into your preferred sportsbook, you’ll see an array of features such as customisable deposit limits and so-called “time outs”. However, this is also home to another feature, which enables you to view your account history and track your individual bets.
This can be highly insightful over time, as it lets you analyse your betting activity in intricate detail and identify potential patterns (including those that are highly beneficial and loss-inducing). You can also calculate your profit and loss over a large number of bets, potentially informing your strategy, unit bets and appetite for risk over time.
Most importantly, you can see if your unit bets or wager frequency has increased over time, even during instances where you place a higher volume of losing bets. This could be evidence of a burgeoning betting problem, and it’s far better to identify such issues before they grow out of hand.
2. The Live Streaming of Sporting Events
While not all sportsbooks offer a comprehensive live streaming platform, a growing number of operators have integrated this feature. Still, not all bettors are aware of this, or know where to look when looking for live streaming or a schedule of the precise events being broadcast. However, this may prove detrimental to your overall betting activity.
However, live or in-play betting can be enhanced significantly by live streaming the action as it unfolds. After all, this helps you to gauge the momentum in matches and make more informed selections, while enabling you to identify new and potentially lucrative markets depending on the game situation too. Both benefits can lead to increased returns across a wide selection of wagers.
Live streaming matches and content in real-time also unlocks the fascinating world of micro betting. These include numerous team and player props that don’t directly impact the outcome of matches, such as the identity of the next goal scorer or football team that will win the next corner. These bets can deliver incremental returns in-play and can be informed by watching contests live.
3. Advanced Bet Builder Technology
Many sites (especially betting exchanges) also feature advanced bet builder technologies. This affords players the freedom to construct their own sports wagers at bespoke odds, across both fixed odds and spread betting markets. This is available both on and offline, although it’s far easier to construct bespoke wager through a remote betting site.
When engaging in spread betting markets, you can eschew fixed odds wagers and achieve profits that depend primarily on how accurate you are with your selections. Similarly, you can build profits that generate a partial profit even if some legs of the wager fail, which is not always the case with traditional wager types and accumulators.
You may also find that some sportsbooks allow you to trigger automated and one-click betting based on specific criteria. You can set predetermined parameters based on your bankroll, target markets and preferred odds, while software will identify relevant opportunities and automatically place wagers.
This is synonymous with arbitrage betting, which looks to profit from pricing inefficiencies and fluctuations that occur during both pre-game and in-play markets. Of course, it’s also significantly higher risk, and requires you to have in-depth knowledge of a particular sport (or its competing teams) a sizeable bankroll and some familiarity with the technology.
The Bottom Line – Maximising Your Sports Betting Advantages Online
These tools each offer hidden value to bettors, especially experienced or advanced punters who want to maximise their starting bankrolls. Serious and competitive bettors must leverage every conceivable advantage if they’re to succeed, as this can help to negate the house edge and unpredictable nature of sporting events. Hopefully, this blog post can also help in this regard!