Casino City's iGaming Pocket Directory - 2016 Edition

Sponsored by 71 Visit iGamingPocketDirectory.com for more information. SPORTS BETTING SPORTS BETTING Sports betting is fundamentally different than the other forms of online gaming. Casino games, poker and bingo are played online. When a punter bets on a sporting event, he is wagering on a real-life event. Whether it’s betting on the English Premier League, the World Cup or darts, the actual gameplay happens in real life, as does the entertainment experience. Only the wager is done online. This fundamental difference alters both the finances and the marketing of the industry, where events like the World Cup can have outsized impacts on revenue and operations. The sector continues to show an upward trend, however, with William Hill seeing 10% growth in sports betting handle and an 11% surge in sportsbook net revenue in the first half of 2015 compared to the first half of 2014. (The World Cup took place in the second half of 2014, so it’s unlikely those gains were maintained in the second half of 2015. William Hill’s financial annual report was not available as of press time.) In an event-driven sector, identifying revenue opportunities is a little bit easier. Sports calendars are set years to months in advance, depending on the sport, so operators, affiliate programs and affiliates have a chance to plan and implement the right strategy for them. SPORTS BETTING INDUSTRY OVERVIEW