In the 21st century, sports betting as seen a huge increase in popularity. The reasons for this are numerous. First, sports have become a lot more popular than ever, simply because there are a lot more people. Football fans are 3 billion strong, and cricket is not far behind, with 2.5 billion people following the game. So, with so many fans, it isn’t at all surprising that sports betting has flourished. Another reason for the rapid growth of the sport betting industry is the creation and subsequent popularization of online betting.
Online Sports Betting
Online sports betting is exactly as it sounds. Most people nowadays don’t waste time going to the bookies. Instead, they get their business done online. Whether this is through the PC, the mobile device, or any other electronic device, sports betting has largely evolved along with the rest of society.
In recent years, mobile wagering has especially made it big. There is nary a person in the Western World that does not have a mobile phone, and better yet, a smartphone. So, it only follows logically that these people would use their smartphones to wager, considering it makes the task a whole lot easier.
For their parts, all popular operators have some form of sports betting app to capitalize on the growth of mobile wagering. Most bookmakers have now gone online. And not just that, but they’ve also acquired quite a few racebooks, due to the fact horse racing is experiencing a huge rise in popularity.
Popularity of Horse Racing
In 2020, the ponies made a sort of a comeback, becoming hugely popular once more. So, it is no surprise, that since then, all the top sports betting operators have begun a transition into racebooks. Horse racing sportsbooks have become a lot more popular. To the point that quite a few prominent networks have completely rebranded. An example would be TVG’s 2022 rebrand. The popular cable network was relaunched by parent company, FanDuel, as FanDuel TV. The goal of the network is to cover sports and betting.
However, what we really are interested in is FanDuel’s secondary network, TVG2. The channel was rebranded as FanDuel Racing. As you can imagine, FanDuel Racing is a network dedicated entirely to horse racing. The network covers US and international events, and has been hugely popular in the past couple of months.
But FanDuel were not the only one that hopped aboard the bandwagon (or horse cart in this case). Another popular bookmaker, BetMGM recently announced their partnership with NYRA Bets. NYRA Bets, for those not in the know, is a racebook that pays special attention on the New York Racing Association-sponsored events. Just last year, BetMGM announced that they will be stepping into a partnership with NYRA Bets. This decision made the racebook BetMGM’s first avenue for placing bets on horses and horse racing.
Even Caesars, one of gambling’s most prestigious and popular companies, has decided to get in on the action. Only a year ago, they announced that they would be expanding in the racing market, and already, their racebook has been released in a few American states, including Florida and Ohio.
The Future of Horse Racing
For a long time, people have often considered horse racing and sports betting separate matters. However, as the popularity of racing keeps growing, more and more people seem to be becoming interested in the industry.
For their part, racebooks are doing everything in their power to attract a bigger audience. Whether this be constant promotions, excellent bonus offers, or thorough coverage of an ever-expanding list of events, most racebooks have it all covered. The popularity of some of the races in the US, such as the Kentucky Derby is helping to raise the profile of racing with normal sports bettors.
If the trends are anything to go by, it seems that horse racing and along with it racebooks, are going to become ever more integrated into the world of sports betting.
Final Thoughts
Sports betting operators are growing, in large part thanks to their online services. Most people who like the idea of betting don’t necessarily want to travel to a bookmaker office. However, thanks to online sportsbooks, a lot of new bettors have come out of the woodworks. It is in large part thanks to this that horse racing has made a comeback in 2020.
Photo JTW Equine Images, Alpinista, Arc, Past The Wire
