Gaming and the Future of Sports Viewership
Are we at the peak of sports culture? For as long as we can remember sports and betting have been prominent. This goes back a long long time. But now more than ever, the two are so intertwined. Placing a bet now leads to someone watching a game and sometimes even attending one. The question is how has this impacted the integrity of sports and how can startups cater to such an obvious marriage between gambling and sports viewership?
Dominating Telecast…Sports in 2022 have been dominating TV viewership with the NFL Superbowl at the helm of the madness. The very obvious connection is to sports betting. When one places a bet, the most common next action is to either keep up with the scores or to watch. So when will the industry adjust and begin to innovate in the streaming space?
Integrity Compromised…When thinking about the rise of sports betting, an inevitable thought is how much can we trust the integrity of the sport with so much money being in the hands of an athlete who after all, is a human. Let’s take Calvin Ridley for example; He is a prime case of the worry many have. Now he may have made a mistake, and this should not reflect on his personal character, but this is obviously not the only time this has happened. Just happened to be he got caught. With that being said, the leagues do a great job at emphasizing and enforcing strict rules to prevent these things from happening. As time goes on and more betting options become available to the public, how relevant will this become?
Betting on the big screens…Since it is so obvious that people like to bet, why is betting not completely integrated with a persons TV screen. That question has come up many times. But truthfully, I think the answer to this question overshadows the opportunity. We should not be exposing our children to sports betting. Not at such a young age. Sports is not only meant to bet, but to inspire kids as well as be a healthy family activity. Sports betting is growing on the younger age group rapidly, but there should most definitely be a limit as normalization of betting continues.
What can a startup do about this?
Focus on the connection between betting and ticket sales. There is true opportunity there.
Integrate streaming. This should become more available for all sports and at a much lower cost. This can be revolutionary.
Understand what a user wants and the steps they take to achieve their desires.
About this column: I have decided to take my knowledge of the gaming industry and turn it into a creative column that I will publish a few times a week. I will cover gaming trends, hot topics in the gaming and tech space, as well as do interviews with some of the biggest names in the gaming and tech startup space!