The Evolution Of Sports Betting In The Digital Age

There used to be a time when one would have to leave the house to place a bet on a sporting event, with everything recorded on very real slips. Gone are the days where such is absolutely necessary, although most of the major bookmakers still own physical storefronts where punters could walk in to choose their odds. We imagine there are purists all over who do prefer getting their bets down that way. The current era of betting, though, is being driven by technology and the best sports betting sites are keeping their products updated in order to offer the best service possible.

One of the areas commanding attention is security. No online betting avenue wants the reputation of being a place where one gets their money stolen. Sites are keen on staying updated with the latest security tech and, while it’s always going to be hard to stay ahead of malicious operators, there’s a lot being done to keep accounts and money secure.

We have also seen the advent of blockchain in recent times. The concept is relatively fresh but, if you’ve heard of bitcoin, you’ve probably heard of blockchain. It’s come to the fore as a facilitator of cryptocurrency operations. Blockchain has already been sweeping across the world of sports, with the NBA one of the leagues at the forefront. A partnership with Dapper Labs has seen the introduction of the NBA Top Shot craze.

In short, the new avenue allows for the buying, selling, and trading of NBA highlights – or moments, as they’re called. If you’re wondering whether we’re saying there’s cryptocurrency in the form of basketball highlights out there, indeed we are. The era of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is also upon us and we expect to see other sports leagues get in on this. You could read more about NBA Top Shot here – we have to warn that you might get hooked.

Blockchain has also made forays into the gambling industry and is now a huge factor as it pertains to online transactions. The technology does have a gambler’s best interest at heart, so to speak, as it eliminates the worry over possibly getting cheated by a bookmaker. If a company’s transactions are rooted in blockchain, it’s virtually impossible to rip anyone off. Gamblers would do well to check if sportsbooks are blockchain-based before signing up.

As Paybito puts it, “Being a gambler, you can initially profit from the transparency of Blockchain. You do not need to put complete faith in the bookmaker or depend on the media uproar. Blockchain makes sure that fair bets take place throughout the board. In case you feel that there is a dispute, feel free to review your wager with the help of Blockchain to make sure that everything happened fairly. You cannot expect the identical transparency from the conventional bookmaking industry. Moreover, the average sportsbook works out their operations with the help of private databases.”

As you might imagine, blockchain is here to stay and we will see its presence increase as the shift from fiat currency to digital currency becomes more of a thing. Last June, PayPal posted a job opening for a new blockchain research group and, by November, announced that users in the United States could purchase a number of cryptocurrencies directly from its site or app.

“The shift to digital forms of currencies is inevitable, bringing with it clear advantages in terms of financial inclusion and access; efficiency, speed and resilience of the payments system; and the ability for governments to disburse funds to citizens quickly,” Dan Schulman, who serves as the company’s president and CEO, said. “Our global reach, digital payments expertise, two-sided network, and rigorous security and compliance controls provide us with the opportunity, and the responsibility, to help facilitate the understanding, redemption and interoperability of these new instruments of exchange.”

There are several technological fronts currently impacting the world of betting but we imagine blockchain will be the one with the biggest influence in years to come. Apart from the security aspect, this tech also facilitates speedy deposits and withdrawals into and out of betting accounts just like Indian betting sites.

Those are already processed pretty quickly but blockchain could make it a lot faster. There are instances where betting payouts could take a bit of time but this will be a thing of the past by the time blockchain spreads across the board.