How iGaming is Enhancing Fan Engagement in the World of Sports

Live sports have always been a big business in the entertainment world, but how is it continuing to compete in the digital era? With more competition for users’ viewing time than ever before, the sporting world is having to find new ways to stand out from the crowd and make an impact. One of the most striking features is the continual uptrend in the integration of iGaming in live sports. We’re going to take a closer look at this from a fan and a business point of view. 

iGaming businesses no longer settle for sponsorship

iGaming brands have been sponsoring sports teams for well over a decade. Shirt sponsors, advertising boards, and halftime TV advertisements are all commonplace in 2024. The iGaming companies know that there is a large degree of crossover between their audience and sports fans. They could advertise in a whole host of different settings, but it only makes sense to engage a captive audience that is most likely to be converted into regular players. For this reason, iGaming business owners have increasingly turned to sporting events because of the close synergy between playing for money and playing to win on the field.

The rise of mobile iGaming makes in-play wagers so much more accessible than in the days when online games were largely consigned to static desktop PCs. Being able to quickly and easily flick between the action on the TV and the odds on a smartphone or tablet has enabled iGaming providers to move far beyond sponsorship. 

In-play action blurs the boundary between phones and TV

In-play action works best with live odds that ebb and flow with the action on the big screen. You only have to look at a rundown of India’s most popular sports to see the size of the opportunity for businesses and sports fans looking to benefit from their knowledge. While we would always caution against placing large bets that you cannot afford to lose, there is something to be said for testing your knowledge against the bookmakers. 

Global sports leagues — the UFC in the MMA world is a great example — regularly display live odds on pop-ups during their broadcasts. These major sporting brands will always have an iGaming provider who pays a sponsorship fee to make this possible. They want to direct the traffic generated by their viewers to a commercial partner who will benefit at the same time. This is standard practice, but there is nothing stopping sports lovers from shopping around for better odds during the live broadcast. 

Athletes are becoming players and ambassadors

If you take a look at sites like askgamblers.com/online-casinos/countries/in/bonus that provide online casino bonuses for players in India, you will soon see athlete ambassadors. These high-profile sports stars are there to add legitimacy and mass appeal to the offers of online casinos. More and more sports leagues now offer shoulder content where retired and current athletes meet up to discuss the odds and how they are calculated. The idea here is to find new ways to create crossover and wider appeal by helping fans connect with the world of iGaming. The shoulder content also helps educate fans on the finer points of the sport and teaches them how to really start thinking about the form book. 

Fans will be able to engage with the sports they love on a deeper level by finding new ways of following athletes and feeling more invested in their advice and opinions. We’re thinking about this as an approach to interactive punditry that enables fans at home to get more invested in the outcomes of any match or game they’re watching. The growth of this area is certainly something that we will be keeping a close eye on in the coming years.

Sports fans are being given unique insights 

AI-driven in-game betting appears to be the future in many ways because it has the ability to quickly recommend a whole host of appealing bets for the next round of action. The future may well consist of personal bets being recommended to each individual viewer based on a variety of different factors. 

AI models would be able to learn a player’s betting patterns, integrate the live form of a team or player, account for variables like injuries and the weather, and even recommend entire strategies. This would allow iGamers to feel increasingly closer to the action by giving them a range of personal tools that they can then shape and use however they wish. 

Fans could then repost their winning bets with a selection of the content being chosen by the broadcaster to appear on the big screen. Doing so not only improves the live fan experience by creating a fun atmosphere but also provides a degree of in-play social proof that can be used to attract new players. 

The future is certainly bright for greater fan engagement!