How can sportsbook operators keep pace with changing consumer habits? What can operators learn from the latest trends in sports media, entertainment and tech? In a recent webinar, BetVision and The Future of In-Play, our Chief Product Officer Matt Fleckenstein outlined why it’s time for an in-play revolution. Read the round-up.
In-play sports betting is experiencing two major shifts. On one hand, user habits are rapidly changing, with the rise of micro-betting and betbuilders. At the same time, today’s sports fan expects more immersive, stats-rich content than ever. Together, these trends are reshaping what it takes to deliver an engaging in-play product.
While the match result, spreads and totals were once the heartbeat of in-play betting, sports bettors now bet on richer, more contextual betting markets as they watch live games. Markets like Receiving Yards on NFL games, and Next Goalscorer on soccer, are driving increased in-play turnover for operators.
Meanwhile, in a world of personalised digital content and entertainment – led by the likes of Spotify, Amazon and Netflix – the expectations of sports audiences are now far greater than a decade ago.
During the recent webinar, our Chief Product Officer, Matt Fleckenstein, said: “I think you’re starting to see in sports what’s already happened in movies and television more broadly. More personalised and contextually recommended experiences.”.
Fleckenstein outlined exactly what the latest trends in sports content and media mean for in-play products, why immediacy, intelligence and interactivity are the way forward, and how sportsbooks can keep pace in a fast-changing world. You can watch back on demand here.
1. Fans aren’t engaging less – they’re engaging more (but differently)
While some experts suggest younger sports fans are disengaging from sports (YouGov reports just 31% of global sports fans aged 18-24 watch live matches on traditional TV channels), these numbers don’t tell the full story. According to Fleckenstein, the new generation of fans is more immersed than ever in the sport they love – yet in a more fragmented way – than ever.
"The reality is, as you dig deeper, you realise fans are just as engaged. They're as fanatic about sports as ever. But they're engaging differently. Gone are the days when fans just sit back and watch sport."
Matt Fleckenstein
Chief Product Officer
Matt Fleckenstein
Chief Product Officer
Sports audiences, such as those aged 18-35, tend to consume live sports across multiple screens. 87% of fans partake in second-screen viewing during a live sports broadcast, according to the Sports Business Institute.
But while second-screen viewing is rife, this trend presents a mega opportunity for sportsbook operators. Sports fans want the ability to stream live sports, place in-play bets, analyse stats and apply their knowledge. Yet today these touchpoints are split across channels and devices.
Available on the NFL and 120 football leagues, BetVision enables operators to capitalise on this engagement. Instead of losing eyeballs to third-party media (like social media and live score apps), the interactive in-play experience unifies all the popular aspects of live sport – including live streaming, team and player stats, betting markets, personalisation and much more.
BetVision even integrates personalised bet tracking and contextual market recommendations to deliver the ideal experience for the new generation of fans.
2) It’s time to truly connect live streaming and betting
Social media apps like YouTube and TikTok have led users to expect immediacy and personalisation. Digital entertainment now strikes the perfect blend between content, interactivity, commerce and real-time engagement.
Early on in the webinar, Fleckenstein outlined exactly what sports betting operators can learn from this approach.
"While I'm watching a sporting event, I want to be gaming, I want to be betting, I want to be engaging with my friends. I want the ability to have one-click commerce and one-click types of transactions. In today's digital world, that's just become the expectation."
Matt Fleckenstein
Chief Product Officer
Matt Fleckenstein
Chief Product Officer
Fleckenstein added: “Fans don’t want to simply consume content, they want to be a participant in the sporting event.”
While traditional streaming and ‘watch and bet’ experiences have left plenty to be desired, BetVision is finally changing the game. Legacy streaming products face UX challenges, with video footage that lags behind the odds.
This is where BetVision sets a new standard. It fully integrates live streaming, stats and betting odds into one seamless experience.
Already delivering a 2x increase in in-play event turnover, BetVision even includes a first-of-a-kind Touch-to-Bet functionality. Touch-to-Bet allows users to tap directly on a player within the video stream, to browse relevant player stats and prop markets, without ever leaving the video player.
A process that might have taken 30 or 60 seconds is now instantaneous.
3) Personalisation is key to growing sportsbook retention
Building customer loyalty and product differentiation are two of the big challenges facing sportsbooks right now. Customers expect interactive and personalised content, and narrative-driven betting markets as they watch their favourite sports.
In other industries, Fleckenstein outlined how entertainment giants like Netflix and Spotify are winning not due to having the most content, but because they deliver tailored, relevant content for each user.
"I think you're starting to see in sports what's already happened in movies and television more broadly. More personalised and contextually recommended experiences."
Matt Fleckenstein
Chief Product Officer
Matt Fleckenstein
Chief Product Officer
With thousands of 24/7 betting events and endless betting markets to choose from, how can operators deliver a Netflix-style, personalised betting experience?
By leveraging user behaviour and a smart understanding of the live match state, BetVision populates relevant betting markets and statistics to help users decide on their next bet and track the progress of ongoing ones.
For example, if Ousmane Dembélé takes two shots within 5 minutes for PSG in a Ligue 1 game, and the user has previously bet on Player Shot Totals, BetVision might promote Dembélé in the Next Goalscorer market. This is a great way to turn passive engagement into in-play betting activity.
4) Interactive live betting: Where gaming meets sportsbook UX
One common theme of the webinar was the undeniable rise of micro-betting and betbuilder on sports like soccer and American Football. Fleckenstein highlighted how this trend is reflective of the convergence between media, gaming and sports betting.
If you watch a sports game on TV, player performance dominates the commentary and analysis. Outside of gameday, fans follow their favourite athletes on channels like Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. At the same time, gaming experiences have created a generation of users who want to be deeply immersed in the action. This engagement is translating into the growth of micro-betting.
"You're seeing a lot of the tried and true lessons from gaming into the market. How do you create these visual experiences that kind of let a user participate in the action? How can you touch the screen, touch the players on the screen and get a certain experience as a result of what you as the user are doing."
Matt Fleckenstein
Chief Product Officer
Matt Fleckenstein
Chief Product Officer
BetVision has purpose-built features to drive prop and micro-betting, including Touch-to-Bet. Gone are the days when fans needed to switch between apps for player stats, updates and betting markets. BetVision gives users the full experience in one place.
Meanwhile, contextual recommendations and personalised bet tracking drive further engagement with markets like Next Goalscorer or a Player’s Receiving Yards. Early BetVision data shows that one-third of all wagers are placed on player prop markets.
5) Digital Twins and AR/VR will drive new innovation
What does the future of sports betting look like? When asked, Fleckenstein pointed to AR and VR. With the potential to disrupt and reimagine live sports viewing, these new technologies will take live sports content way beyond flat screens and static interfaces.
"We have cameras that we install in venues that allow us to create live digital twins of the sporting events that are happening. This creates 3D types of experiences that you can either see through your phone or through the next generation of augmented and mixed reality headsets. I think some of the more recent advancements in terms of the ability to track all of the players, all the ball action on the pitch are what make the next leap possible."
Matt Fleckenstein
Chief Product Officer
Matt Fleckenstein
Chief Product Officer
Genius Sports is already generating real-time digital twins of sporting events. By capturing thousands of datapoints per second and applying machine learning to map player movement in real time, our AI systems render a digital twin of the action. This means we know exactly where any player is on the pitch at any given moment, down to their fingertip.
This powers BetVision features like Touch-to-Bet and interactive functionality that is simply not possible with standard broadcasts.
As consumer adoption of devices like Meta Quest and Apple Vision Pro accelerates the shift toward immersive experiences, live data and interactive UX features will make sports entertainment and betting experiences even deeper and more immersive for fans.
This isn’t just a way of enhancing current betting products. Experiences like BetVision set a new standard for in-play betting engagement, with more still to come.
The time is now
For sportsbook operators, the pace of change in live sports content presents plenty of exciting in-play potential.
When discussing the next wave of sports betting innovation, Fleckenstein said: “I think it’s been slow, but it’s kind of one of these situations where the time is now and, if you don’t lean in and embrace it, there’s a risk of falling behind.”
The convergence of sports betting, media and entertainment is undeniable. BetVision is finally allowing sportsbooks to deliver an in-play experience that thrives in today’s live sports viewing landscape.
Across popular sports like football, basketball, tennis and the NFL, interactivity, immediacy and intelligence are set to be the blueprint for sportsbook success.
