GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 17 - September 2011

football match starting at 10 a.m. on a Tuesday morning when there’s nothing else really on that is probably more popular.” Punterswho access the live streams can watch the video on part of their computer monitor, but the in-play wagering options surround the video, giving bettors the opportu- nity to peruse the markets to see if there are any positions they would like to back. With the exception of horse rac- ing, a bet is not required to ac- cess the live stream. Most sites simply require that viewers of live streams have a funded ac- count – and when more than 90 percent of those watching a live stream are making in-play wa- gers, why not? While some view- ers take advantage of this lax policy to gain free access (minus the minimal deposit they make to fund their account), the books are happy to provide the service. “We’ve streamed the Australian Open for the last three or four years,” says Brown. “Acquisition- wise, it produces hundreds if not thousands of customers. Now some of those [bettors] are not of huge value, because all they actual- ly want to do is come in and watch the tennis; they’re more tennis fans than bettors. But over a period of time, those customers, once they get used to it and they get savvy about it, they quite often will develop into punters further down the line. And if people want to come in and all they do is watch the streams and they’re not betting, but then go off and tell their friends they’ve had a great experience at Betfair, or if six months down the line they form opin- ions that make themwant to bet, then that’s perfect for us.” The complexity of live streaming agree- ments, however, requires a great deal of diligence on the part of the sportsbooks. Not only do licensing agreements need to be reached, but each license will have dif- fering conditions depending on the juris- diction of the viewer. A punter in Ireland may be able to access a live stream while a gambler in France may not. “We’ve got 25 different country sites, and the availability varies by country,” says Kenny. “For Champions League football, we can’t show it in the U.K., but we can in Ireland, Canada and Australia. Going through the whole thing, it’s absolute madness. There are a lot of restrictions out there in terms of what matches or what events are avail- able, but obviously we try and get the most access we can.” And despite what Betfair estimates is a 20 percent increase in player value for punters who view live streams, those increases don’t always mean a big in- crease in profit for the operators. The licensing cost of providing the live streams can be onerous. “From a revenue perspective, it’s not always as impactful as I think people perceive it to be,” says Brown. “But from a marketing and customer expectation point of view, it’s an important part of what we do.” Books continue to look to ex- pand, not only in the number and scope of their live streaming options, but also in the mediums where bettors will be able to view live streams. With many books already offering bettors the abil- ity to wager on mobile devices, an integration of live streaming and in-game betting on mobile devices can’t be far behind. Aaron Todd is the senior editor at the GPWA. He has more than five years of editorial experience in the online gambling industry, covering major industry conferences, innovations and trends.You can reach him at aaron@casinocity.com, and follow him on Twitter @CasinoCityAT. With many sites already boasting successful mobile applications (Betfair took £1 billion in mobile bets last year), live streaming of sporting events on mobile phones is likely the wave of the future. 33 Live stream goes mainstream