This is another article in a small series on technology and the local betting industry
In two articles last week, we reported that the spread of fiber-link internet was behind the rapid growth of the local betting industry. We also wrote that once the forthcoming legislation is put in place to allow online gambling, yet another boom is expected.
Online betting, the second article stated, was the industry’s next frontier – a yet to be attained reality that once in place would pull in hordes of new punters due to the sheer convenience and anonymity brought to the gambling experience when people are able to place bets remotely.
A yet to be attained reality, huh?
Turns out stuff is a little more interesting – and exciting. The online gambling experience is already here.
On the websites of several local betting houses, one can place place a sports lottery. There buttons to browse leagues, select teams, pick games, and place one’s bet are already there. AfricaBet’s online portal is a good example, impressive upon first looking because of the number of leagues offered (depth and variety are the punter’s friends.)
Technicality: difference with direct sports betting and sports lottery
There is a technical difference between sports lottery and sports betting in the traditional, horses-racing-and-soccer sense. In sports lottery, the odds (the mathematical probability of winning or losing) are fixed, they do not change. In traditional sports betting, odds fluctuate from one event to the next. With the former, the punter has to pick a winning sequence of games, say from the Turkish Pro League, and in order to win, it has to be a perfect winning sequence. Hence the name “lottery” after “sports.”
Anonymity is already here, if you have been waiting for it
Remember, I have already stated that a lot of would-be punters are lurking in the shadows. I noted how these potential gamblers, who desire convenience and anonymity because of the bad reputation that gambling supposedly carries, would all come out of the woodwork in droves once they could use their phones to place bet from their backyard, enjoying some good old mushana.
Well, both benefits are here. The apparatus for online gambling has already arrived, and is catering to sports lottery for now. With soon-coming legislation the field will be broadened to include odds and classic sports punting, but the the much-awaited online gambling experience is finally here.
And it’s here to stay.
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