Analysis: The new face of in-play betting
High frequency, micro-markets could drive sportsbook growth and boost second-screening capabilities
In-play betting during this year’s unpredictable and highly entertaining World Cup will no doubt have reached record levels of turnover. However, the bar is set to be raised further with some bookies using the tournament as a launchpad for a new variation of the product which could take in-play betting in an entirely new direction.
Launched with Las Vegas-based supplier Metric Gaming, Coral Interactive debuted its new Rapid Fire markets last week, allowing customers to place bets on football markets lasting no more than 60 seconds.
Meanwhile BetVictor has introduced its ‘Minute to Win It’ product on all World Cup matches with a view to running it on a wider selection during the forthcoming football season, and SBTech announced today that it is offering similar software to clients.
Both Coral and BetVictor’s products take a minute-long period of the game and offer odds on whether set pieces such as a throw-in, free kick or goal kick occur, a referee gives a red or yellow card, or even if a goal will be scored within that timeframe.
Growing importance
In-play is becoming an increasingly prominent chunk of sportsbook revenues “ accounting for 70% of bet365’s sports betting revenues and around 60% of Ladbrokes’ and mass marketing of the product has arguably seen it become a commodity in recent years with operators looking for new ways to keep punters entertained.
And with the growth of mobile and its ‘snacking’ consumer culture, a new variation on the product will do no harm to operators looking to grab a larger share of customers’ wallets.
By keeping customers engaged with high-frequency, micro-markets, operators appear to have a product which can harness the potential of second screening on mobile even better than the existing in-play model. And the opportunity to generate higher turnover per player is also hugely attractive.
BetVictor’s head of sportsbook Eoin Ryan said the operator is “very encouraged” by the levels of activity on the Minute to Win It markets, which have exceeded expectations so far.
“We believe there is a big opportunity and the early feedback and uptake would suggest that is the case,” he says. “These markets are unique, they are immediately settled as each minute elapses and they offer a customer a new and exciting way to follow the action.”
Metric Gaming’s SuperLive product monitors live in-play events to generate short-term betting opportunities. Founded by poker player and high stakes sports bettor Martin de Knijff and involving ex-Ongame CEO Peter Bertilsson as chairman, the firm believes up until now in-play has only been “half live”.
“Technology, lack of good and fast scoring feeds and the courage to set prices for real-time events has been hindering innovation in the live offer,” Bertilson told eGaming Review back in May. “But now all these obstacles have matured into a very different landscape for the sports betting world: better technology “ especially mobile “ better feeds and a strong need to have better live offering.”
New challenges
Challenges still remain in this space. BetVictor uses its trading technology arm Botsphere to generate the markets, manage the pricing and settlement, however Ryan says major hurdles have included ensuring the quality and accuracy of the data, as well as shortening the gap between the current minute on the clock and the next available betting opportunity.
“We’ve got this down to a couple of minutes but we’d like to make it even shorter in due course,” he explains.
Indeed, even shorter bet timeframes are likely to emerge. Real-time pricing algorithms mean the concept of being able to bet on whether a penalty will be scored the moment it is given is now possible.
Some have voiced concern over whether these news markets could be seen in the same light as FOBTs, where high frequency bets have been permitted with little or no limits. At a time when bookies are being hit hard by tax and regulatory changes, a new, gaming-style product could attract yet more unwanted attention.
Ryan points out that so far the average bet size BetVictor has seen during the World Cup is small and argues these markets simply provide a “new way for recreational customers to enjoy a match and stay involved in the action”.
“It enlivens even the dullest of games and means there’s is no such thing as a bore draw anymore,” he says. And he adds the football experiment is just the beginning.
“We have already offered 15 minute markets and we see minute betting as an evolution of that product. Although it’s initial application has been around football, we believe there are many more applications for it across various sports and we are actively investigating and scoping these out.”