Report: 5G and the Future of Mobile Sports Betting
Paysafe Chief Business Development Officer, Daniel Kornitzer, reveals key findings of a new report from the specialised payments platform on the anticipated impact of 5G technology on the sports betting experience.
5G data networks are poised to unlock a new level of player engagement within the iGaming industry, particularly as it pertains to mobile sports betting. Furthermore, increased bandwidth and reduced latency mean that operators will be able to offer more compelling products to sports bettors, in a ubiquitous manner.
In response to this anticipation, Paysafe recently launched a research report titled ‘The Evolution of Mobile Sports Betting: Assessing the impact of 5G on the online gambling industry,’ in which 7,000 players were asked how they would want 5G to be harnessed to improve their betting experience. In exploring the game-changing role of this technology, our report focuses its attention on players and consumers in the US, Germany and the UK. By concentrating on these key markets, the impact of mobile sports betting’s sustained growth on the overall sports betting market was also made more apparent.
When looking at the three regions cumulatively, mobile apps proved to be the top sports betting channel for 37% of all players, ahead of both computer (31%) and in-person betting (26%). Mobile apps are especially popular in UK, where 43% of sports bettors chose it as their preferred method. Those numbers were 34% in the US and 32% in Germany, with the latter still showing desktop to be the preferred method at 44%. Key reasons for the growing adoption of mobile sports betting include in-app user experience, which was cited by 53% of players and the ability to place bets from anywhere, cited by 55% of players.
In-Play Potential Strong Among Regular Bettors
The potential impact of 5G is further highlighted by the 18% of all current and potential sports bettors, that anticipate placing more in-play sports bets following the introduction of 5G. Bolstering optimism are the 42% of sports bettors that already place an average of more than one bet per week who say they will increase their volume of in-play sports bets. For half (21%) of these players, this will include betting on new events.
The influence of 5G on the future prevalence of in-play betting can be seen in the 54% of current and future players across the three markets that foresee starting to bet or betting more frequently on mobile platforms following 5G’s introduction that also believe that they are likely to place more in-play bets.
The report shows an existing apprehension among current and potential in-play sports bettors, with only 14% stating that they have no concerns when making in-play bets. Central to these concerns is slow internet speed with 22% of players across all markets concerned about placing their bets in time, and 19% worried about the connectivity of their mobile device.
Connectivity A Catalyst for In-Stadium Bets
There is also a direct correlation between those connectivity issues and player confidence in placing bets while attending sports events. The lack of trust in 4G technology’s ability to support desired betting activities is evidenced by the 31% of all sports bettors that refrain from placing bets while attending events reliant on 4G networks. That number rises to 51% when looking at sports bettors that place an average of more than one bet per week.
The transformative quality of 5G can also be seen in the 52% of regular sports bettors that say being able to place bets while attending sports events would make the experience more enjoyable; 45% said they are more likely to attend a sports event if they could place a wager when at the game. Finally, 26% of all players said that it is important that stadiums adapt to being 5G-capable to facilitate in-play sports betting.
With increased consumer buy-in, 5G-enabled mobile devices will be poised to exert significant influence over the development of forthcoming iGaming products. Proactiveness and forward-thinking in the three markets discussed will be instrumental to the success of industry stakeholders looking to seize hold of this emerging opportunity.
