When did sports betting start?
It is hard to say exactly when betting on sports started, but we know that it has been around in some form for thousands and thousands of years. There has likely always been some form of betting on live entertainment, whether that be on jousting contests in the Middle Ages or all the way back to ancient Greece when the very first Olympics were held. It wouldn’t be absurd to assume that even in prehistoric times, there was some form of betting.
This is all to say that it has been around for a really long time; it has had time to grow, change and adapt to what audiences want from this form of entertainment.
What has sports betting become in the modern age?
Sports betting looks a lot different from what it once did. In the modern age, we have many different technologies to make the process of placing a bet as smooth as can be. This is evident in the rise of mobile betting sites in the UK , allowing the bettor much more convenience as they can place bets wherever they may be, regardless of whether they have access to a desktop or a laptop.
Of course, the introduction of mobile casinos is far from the only thing that has changed, even in the last few years, especially in the US, where they have grown to be a very large part of the industry. Micro-betting is something that has also really taken off recently. No longer do you have to make a bet on the overall outcome of a game – you can bet on minute details that will keep you invested for the whole game, whether that be the predicted number of corners, or which players are going to get subbed off and at what stage of the game.
Learning about prediction markets
Prediction markets may sound like a scary word from afar, but what does this even mean? Well, it encompasses many different things, which may be why it is hard to explain, but essentially, the prediction market is anything that involves people taking a risk and predicting the possibility or outcome of any event.
So, in a way, sports betting is part of the prediction market, and once you start to see the similarities, it's not hard to see just how much of an effect the sports betting industry has had on the wider prediction market.
For example, an understanding of micro-betting in sports can allow people to more easily transition into different prediction markets, as the fundamental concepts are similar.
There are no limits
The overall prediction market gives the bettor a unique opportunity in that there are very few things that you can’t bet on. It could be a political bet – maybe whoever you’re backing to win the next election. You can even bet on what the weather may be like on any particular day. There really aren’t any limits, and sports betting has given players the tools they need to engage with these platforms.
Setting the groundwork for user experience
Sports betting sites and apps are known to provide an incredible user experience, letting users quickly and effectively make the bets that they want, with easy access to all of the data and information that they would need to make informed bets. This style of user interface has clearly inspired the wider prediction market, as there are some rather obvious parallels between them. This is a great thing, though, as it gives people who may be used to sports betting an easy introduction to a wider world of prediction markets. In much the same way, a game such as the EA FC series takes a lot of inspiration from how its real-life counterpart works, including culture and how fans react to different teams and players.
Where do we go from here?
The prediction market is growing at such a fast pace, with more and more users engaging with what it has to offer every day. We are in somewhat unprecedented times, so to state what will happen next is almost impossible. But the sector will likely keep growing, constantly improving and refining itself so even more people have access and are able to engage.
Conclusion
Sports betting was the precursor in many ways to more mainstream prediction markets. The user experience and interfaces that can be accessed have been adapted from the sports betting market. And the way in which the bettors interact with predictions is very similar. This is certainly a good thing, as more people are expanding their horizons and exploring more of what the vastness of the internet has to offer.