Since the advent of the internet all industries have seen changes taking place – in some cases the changes involve complete transformations, in some other cases they are more like developments enhanced by the internet and still in some other cases these changes feel like opening a whole new world of opportunities. This latter one is probably the case for the sports betting and the overall gambling industry.
Among all the things that have changed, particularly by the advancement of the digital technologies, building on the internet infrastructure, is -what you have most likely heard about – making the experience of sports bettors a seamless experience throughout and across different touch points.
Think of a sports bettor who has won a wager placed on an online bookmaker. The bettor expects profits to be delivered instantly just as they would in a land-based sportsbook. But if there weren’t same day withdrawal betting sites, this could not be possible. What we mean here is that the digital advancements have made possible the integrated, consistent and seamless experience of bettors, irrespective of the context where they consume the service offered.
The above example is an over simplistic demonstration of how punters expect the different channels to deliver the same experience. Instant profits from winning bets should not be feasibly only with the physical bookies but with their quick withdrawal betting sites as well.
Consistent experience across platforms and touch-points
Let’s get it a bit deeper into the more complex context now. Imagine that a sports bettor wants to place a wager on the Man of the Match in an upcoming cricket game. The punter uses the betting application on the mobile device while he is on the go and then goes home to watch the game.
While at home, he uses his desktop device and naturally he expects that their application and the website will have synchronized and he will be able to track down his bet on the bookmaker’s site as well.
Now imagine that the bet eventually wins, as the punter has picked the player that has ended up being named the Player of the Match at the end of the game, but he wants to cash his profits in person. He visits the bookmaker’s land-based shop, which happens to be around the corner, and asks for his profits from the won bet.
In this example we have a sports bettor who has moved across three different channels: app, website and physical, brick-and-mortar betting shop. Moving across these channels is possible because the specific bookmaker has invested in omni-channel operations: in having all platforms and touch points offering the same consistent experience to the punter. And of course in having all platforms synched and integrated.
Omni-channel operations are highly appreciated by sports bettors
Such an integrated channel function is highly appreciated by the sports bettors. That’s because omni-channel operations simply mean that no matter where or how they get to consume the service offered by the sportsbook, the experience will be the same and the transition from one channel to another will be seamless.
To wrap up, the most important change brought about by the internet and the digital technologies – besides developing the online environment of course – is that they have made possible a blend, an integration of two worlds: the offline and the online.
Such an integration blurs the boundaries between what happens online and what happens offline and makes sports bettors gain a unique experience as they move through and across the different channels.
Omni-channel operations are so important in the gambling and sports betting industry, that soon we will only talk about fully integrated functions being able to capture the value of punters. And this value is to be unleashed by punters’ commitment and loyalty to sportsbooks.
