While every facet of life has changed ever since the advent of the Internet, there are some which are almost unrecognizable now. The introduction of smartphones to our lives has made this change even more drastic, to the extent that most of us can probably not function without our metal-and-glass companions anymore. Constant connectivity is a boon and a bane, but one sector which is certainly not complaining is the online gambling sector, specifically sports betting.
Historically, sports betting used to only be possible at the sporting venue itself, where bets were taken as the action unfolded in front of you. While this is still the case for many sports, most notably horse racing, the Internet now allows you to place a bet on any sporting event, anywhere in the world, from the comfort of your couch. Moreover, this can be done on your phone as well – you don’t even need a laptop or computer. This is all down to the improvements in internet speeds and the proliferation of high-speed Wi-Fi networks. It is estimated that over 70% of sports bettors use mobile bookies, which reflects the shift in usage patterns over the last few years.
Some of the biggest and best online sportsbook providers, such as bet365, 888Sport, Bet Rivers online sportsbook, and Ladbrokes, to name a few, adapted quickly to these changes and are now leading brands in the mobile sports betting arena as well. The convenience of being able to place a sports bet from anywhere, at any time, along with the ease of in-play betting on a phone, to go with the explosion in cheap internet availability across the world, are the main reasons why sports betting from the phone has become so popular.
Online sportsbooks have developed and released betting apps so bettors can now place a wager anywhere. Easy money transfers through the phone have also made it simpler for punters to load their accounts and transfer their winnings, with increasingly secure transactions making it incredibly safe to use these platforms without fear of online theft or scams.
There is another huge growth spurt waiting to happen, as the United States legalizes sports betting. The Supreme Court struck down the ban on sports betting in 2018, and since then, states have been making their own laws with regard to the pastime. While this is happening on a state-by-state basis, there are some states where sports betting is legal already, including Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, New Jersey, Nevada, and New Hampshire, to name a few. The states mentioned are those where full or partial forms of mobile sports betting have been legalized, while other states have only legalized physical sportsbooks, and some have still not legalized sports betting at all.
Nevertheless, the trend is quickly moving towards an increasing number of states where sports betting is legal, and there could soon be a point in the future where this is true for the entire country. That could open up a huge market for sportsbook providers, as Americans are huge fans of sports betting, and the availability of this pastime on mobile phones will only serve to make it even more popular.