GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 17 - September 2011

That increase in turnover has been seen most in the in-play markets. Year-over-year, William Hill has seen a 114 percent jump in the wagers made during sporting events. And those wagers aren’t just on which team is going to win the game. Bettors can back their predictions on an almost endless number of positions, from who will score the next goal to who will get the next card, or which team will be awarded the next throw-in or corner kick. “Ten years ago you’d have saidwe’d bemad to be offering [these bets],” says Kenny. “If you’re sitting there watching the live stream and play- ing away yourself, it’s just phenomenal to get involved. I would never bet on the first throw-in of the match, but obviously some people have theories behind it. They might be wacky theories, but theyhave their theories.” Brown says that live streaming, accompa- nied by in-play wagering, gives the bettor an op- portunity to make a more informed decision. “A lot of [punters] might wait [to make a bet] un- til five minutes into a match,” says Brown. “The reality is the odds might not be any different than they were before the match started, but those first five minutes give the bettor confidence of seeing that a player isn’t limping round the pitch, or whatever else they may see that helps themmake a decision about who to back.” Football is undoubtedly the most popular sport to bet on in Europe, and about 15 percent of those betting on the sport on Betfair are watching live streams. That pales in comparison to some of the other sports, where bettors may not be able to watch the action on television. At Betfair, one in four tennis bettors watches live streaming, while 30 percent of basketball punters will be watching the live streams. For niche sports like bowls (also known as bocce), as many as 40 percent of the bettors watch the live stream. Many events would not be available for bettors to watch, if the live streams were not available. “From our research, we know that people only like to bet on matches that they can actually see,” says Kenny. “We’re giving people access to the markets, and the streaming video makes them more likely to bet with William Hill.” Sites have also learned that the quality or im- portance of a match isn’t what necessarily de- termines whether it will be popular on a live stream. Just as important can be the day of the week or the time of the day that the match is set to begin. “What you’re looking for sometimes are holes in the sporting schedule for the day,” says Brown. “Rather than all the football kicking off at three o’clock on a Saturday afternoon, a lower level “ If you can bring a customer in and they’re aware of live video and they start using it early on, you’re going to make more revenue by taking them to a site where they’ve got a decent range of live streaming. – Will Brown, Betfair ” 30 Live stream goes mainstream