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Sports wagering’s momentum isn’t going to stop anytime soon. Online sports betting is set to be a major factor extending that momentum.
A report from research firm Fair Market Insights (FMI) indicated that the global sports betting market will grow 10.3% between 2022 and 2032. The company predicts the market to be worth $84.66 billion in 2022. That number will jump by nearly 300% in the next 10 years.
“Due to the growing need for digitalization and penetration of connected devices, the sports betting market will witness significant growth in the forecast period,” analysis firm Fact.MR wrote about the results. “Overall demand for sports betting is poised to increase at a CAGR of 10.3% between 2022 and 2032, totaling around US$ 225.65 billion by 2032.”
Asia currently has the biggest market share at 30% and the region is expected to stay in the top spot over the next decade.
Tech is the main driver behind online sports betting growth
Technology advancement was among the top factors that will drive the global sports betting industry’s growth, FMI found.
“New machine learning algorithms that attempt to predict the outcomes of games and races are expected to become more familiar to sports bettors,” FMI said. “As a result, the rise of machine learning will be a boon to the global sports betting market [from 2022 to 2032].”
Among the drivers of this technology will be wagering vendors.
“Major sports betting market vendors are increasingly focusing a significant portion of their investments on machine learning tools and methods that have demonstrated promising results in prediction,” FMI wrote. “Machine learning assists in developing predictive algorithms and accurate predictive models for improved betting efficiency.”
Growing distribution channels a key to growth, too
Tech aside, FMI found that expanding distribution channels will help drive growth globally. In the United States, this has been the case. More than three dozen states are home to legalized sports betting. Before 2018, there were fewer than five.
This rapid expansion has exposed a wide variety of customers to sports betting. Bettors in many states have multiple operators to choose from. They can tailor their betting experience to platforms they best connect with.
“The sports betting market expansion of distribution channels, increase in purchasing power of middle-income groups, increase in product awareness, and smart strategic marketing activities all have a positive impact on the sports betting market key trends and opportunities,” FMI wrote.
eSports will be fastest growing segment
Surprisingly, the report predicted that eSports will be the fastest growing segment within the global sports betting industry.
While eSports doesn’t have a big market share in the United States, it is relatively popular on a global scale. FIM predicted that eSports will grow at a rate of 14.8% over the next 10 years.
Part of the reason for that aggressive prediction is that gaming is something that people adopt as children. That early adoption tends to transition to a lifelong interest. Competitions between friends, whether for money or entertainment, is a tendency that transfers well to betting on eSports, the report noted.
“While a significant portion of the population participates in competitive matches for entertainment, income, and recreation, eSports competitions draw large audiences,” FIM said. “The sports betting market has begun to capitalize on the opportunity through eSports betting that in turn [influences] the sports betting market adoption trends.”
