Fuzzable
The rise in online shopping has certainly affected High Street stores across the UK, with big names such as BHS permanently shutting their doors, the High Street seems to have a lot of empty shop windows. It isn’t just the retail industry that’s affected, with people flocking to websites and apps for their food & drink and even betting fix. There are Apps available for all device types, websites and even designated phone lines for people to place bets on, you can even play live casino from Betfair, so where’s the need for a brick-and-mortar casino? Convenience is a big need in our current society, being able to have everything instantly is becoming more and more significant in customer priorities.
Online betting has been around for quite a few years and is a quick and convenient way for people to place bets without having to leave the comfort of their home. With so many sporting events and other markets covered and easily available through memberships, people can essentially have the same experience from a betting shop in their front room, whilst having the added comfort of their sofa and refrigerator. The incomes for racecourse and bookmakers betting fell from £3.3bn in April 2015 to £3.2bn in September 2018 whilst during the same period online betting income jumped from £4.2bn to £5.6bn, a huge growth.
New FBOT (Fixed Betting Odds Terminals) laws came into play earlier this year which has affected the high street betting stores even further. The maximum bet for the fixed odds betting terminal decreased massively from £100 to just £2, with betting shops claiming this would affect at least 50% of their annual revenue in the stores. The future clearly lies within online betting, since they first appeared on our smartphone screens popularity has increased massively. Now, with thanks to digital wallet services such as Apple Pay, you can have your bank details stored into the App meaning last minute bets are easy to place and withdrawing winnings is instant and safely in your bank as opposed to cash.
The gambling commission stated that online betting, bingo and casino games have over a third of the market share (38.8%), with betting shops claiming 22.1%. Looking at other sectors within the industry, the national lottery is close behind with 20.6%; casinos, and bingo halls, smaller lotteries and arcades each have less than 10%.
It’s not just sportsbook and exchange, it’s also the convenience of having everything under one roof, so to speak – including online and live casino, games and bingo.
Online gaming and gambling certainly engulfs the majority of the industry and looks to grow further in the future with the rise of instant live bets, and real time betting. As the internet develops to provide instant and easy access to betting for its customers, it surely won’t be too long before more and more people start swapping from offline to online.
