During the pandemic, the sports betting industry had to overcome many challenges. Many experts predicted a recession in the online sports betting industry due to the uncertainty of the market, users wanting to save their money and the shutdown of all sports activities. However, the opposite happened, as the industry has continued to grow rapidly over the last two years and betting sites were able to acquire many new customers. Since the industry is growing so quickly, where is it headed? This article will attempt to tackle that, as we highlight four interesting trends you can expect to see with the sports betting industry in 2022.

Is Esports a Growing Industry?

The esports industry has seen tremendous growth over the years, in both viewership and revenue. According to a report by Insider Intelligence, there will be 29.6 million monthly esports viewers in 2022, up 11.5% from 2021, while revenue from esports is expected to surpass $2.5 billion by 2022. A major reason for this increase is attributed to when all sports activities were suspended, as bettors resorted to esports matches. It is without a doubt that esports is a growing industry that will continue to expand in 2022 as well. To learn more about the rise of esports, check out our previous article here.

Sports Teams Partnering with Online Bookmakers

As sports betting grows, the teams being bet on have begun to take notice and create partnerships with those sportsbooks. Currently, all Premier League and Football League Second Division teams have signed sponsorship contracts with sports betting companies. Check out the latest NFL iGaming partnerships here.

North American sports franchises have embraced the trend of allowing sportsbooks inside arenas as well. Capital One Arena became the first U.S professional sports arena with William Hill’s sportsbook inside its arena. Since then, BetRivers Lounge sportsbook opened at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. More alliances like these are likely on their way in the coming future.

Live Streaming in App

Many sports betting websites offer betting services, but don’t provide live streams for sports matches. This can be a huge opportunity for sportsbooks because users would be able to stream and place live bets on one website instead of using a separate app for placing their bets. The streaming service would be a great feature if it could be expanded to include all major league matches and sports. As of now, there are very limited number of bookmakers that offer live streaming services, however this can be an upcoming trend to be aware of.

Crypto: The New Payment Method

During recent years, the use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have been growing steadily. There are many advantages for players using Bitcoin as their payment method, as it is decentralized, secure, private and fast. Many experts believe that the growing trend of crypto usage at online betting sites will reshape the betting payments industry. While for the near future regular payment methods will continue to take precedence, crypto is beginning to grow in the space.

What's Next?

To sum up, these are just a few of the latest sportsbook trends to be aware of as we enter a new year. There are sure to be progressing new trends in the sports betting world as bookmakers are reaching previously unavailable markets such as China and the USA.