Wouldn’t it be cool to have access to a sportsbook that you not only get to place wagers through but can watch live-streamed games through their app or website? As it turns out, this is no longer fantasy and is now a reality thanks to PointsBet and Genius Sports Group. You read that correctly. Technology has made one of your dreams come true. The two companies have built a partnership where you can watch your favorite sporting event live-streamed through the PointsBet online app or website. But don’t get your hopes up too high quite yet about being able to watch the Bears or Cubs or Bulls on your handheld device. However, that could be not far off, either.
How The Heck Does This Work?
The companies are already working together with PointsBet using the Betgenius in-game trading content as part of their existing wagering platform. This made the transition seamless and very easy. What this new expansion plan does is it brings the streaming service that Genius Sports Group has been using and integrating it into the PointsBet app and website. It means that you could be betting on a volleyball match to win and watching that very match as it happens on your handheld device or desktop computer. But don’t expect to see primetime games. The idea with the streaming service is to provide content for bettors around the clock, which basically means off-peak time sporting events will be featured most. What bettors will see visually is official wagering odds data alongside the live video of sporting events. These live streams will be of matches being played in soccer, tennis, table tennis, volleyball, and esports. We did warn you that they would be off-peak sporting events, which isn’t going to be NFL, NHL, or NBA in the US at this point. But it is logical to expect to see others added as time progresses.
What The Partners Had To Say
PointsBet vice president of customer and insights Ron Shell says sports bettors in the US average almost a perfect split between placing bets before games start and placing bets in-play. “Industry experts and the PointsBet team agree that wagering will trend more and more towards in-play as the US market matures.” He adds that this is all part of a natural shift that takes place due to the overlapping style of US sporting events. Shell states that the structure of US sports also permits “micro-markets like the next ‘at-bat’ in baseball or the ‘next drive’ in football.” Genius Sports Group’s senior vice president for the US, Bill Anderson, says he was thrilled to launch the live streaming program with their first US customer. “Offering a unique and differentiated betting experience has allowed PointsBet to grow impressively in the US over the last two years.” He adds that it is paramount to stand out in the market as competition continues to build in the sports betting industry and that “our streaming service provides an exciting and powerful way to do that.”
More About Genius Sports Group
Established in 2016, Genius Sports Group resulted from the merger of Betgenius and SportingPulse International. Betgenius, which was a technology and data supplier to the betting industry, is now a subsidiary of Genius Sports Group. SportingPulse International was a sports data and software business. The company expanded in 2017 with the acquisition of a volleyball technology supplier known as Data Project. In 2018, Genius Sports Group was purchased by Apax Partners which remains the parent company. Apax is based in London, England. Throughout 2017, 2018, and 2019, Genius Sports Group struck deals with professional sporting entities, partnered with other sporting leagues, and generally established professional deals with national and international sports groups.
More About PointsBet
PointsBet was established in Australia in 2017. The company has since expanded to include a headquarters in the United States to address expansion plans into new sports betting states. PointsBet has both brick-and-mortar and mobile sportsbooks operating in Illinois and has a combination of these also located in New Jersey, Iowa, Michigan, Indiana, and Colorado. PointsBet was the first US sportsbook to integrate the Genius Sports Group streaming program. NBC has recently purchased an equity stake of 4.9% in PointsBet. This could bring other live-streamed sporting events to the app although there is no official word as to why NBC chose to get involved with PointsBet. The smart money is on the live streaming program which could give NBC a jump into the online sports betting industry in Illinois.
A Brief History of Sports Betting In Illinois
Online sports betting was first legalized in the state in June 2019. The first brick-and-mortar sportsbook to launch in the state was nearly a year later in March 2020. In June 2020, the first online/mobile sportsbook opened in Illinois. There are currently 7 brick-and-mortar and 5 online sportsbooks operating within the state. The Illinois Gaming Board regulates the industry and the state has imposed a 15% tax on sportsbook operators with that revenue earmarked for infrastructure and rebuilding of the state economy. The largest monthly handle to date collected through sports betting in Illinois was recorded in August 2020 at $139,643,887.
In Conclusion
Saying that competition is fierce in the sports betting industry in Illinois would be an understatement. With just a handful of sportsbooks in operation in the state and bettors spending incredible amounts of money on wagers, the sportsbook landscape is a tough one to navigate. Innovation will dictate where bettors will gravitate and PointsBet is betting that by being the first in the state to offer live streaming of sporting events alongside their unique betting data, bettors will want to be part of the action. It’s a longshot with off-peak sporting events as the only ones to be live-streamed so far, but the odds are in PointsBets’s favor that this will change once the system builds a reputation and betting trends move to more in-play wagering. It’s most certainly a gamble, but everything is in the world of sports betting.
