Betting on sports and bookmakers—how have things changed today?

In Canada, the popularity of bookmakers only continues to grow. Gamblers prefer to bet on various sports events, because here you can rely not only on luck, but also on analytics. Many experts say that sports betting is the first gambling entertainment of mankind. But today they look completely different, offering more options and opportunities for gamblers.

The experts of onlinecasinospot.ca collected in this article all the relevant information about how sports betting have changed today. You will learn what events you can bet money on in Canada, what unique features modern bookmakers offer. Separately, we will talk about cybersports, because it is the one that is experiencing the best times today.

What has changed in sports betting

People have been betting on sports since the team competitions began. Some spend a few cents, some bet millions on significant sporting events. Many gamblers, who actively used the services of bookmakers earlier, note a whole new level of this gambling entertainment.

The main change in sports betting today is their digitalization. Now, sports betting can be done more efficiently thanks to the live-streaming and digitalization of the process itself. It is no longer necessary to be physically present in a betting shop branch, no longer need to stand in line in order to bet on a particular result. The Canadian gambler opens a bookmaker’s website on his or her device, selects a sporting event, and places a bet.

“We are living in a time of transformation in sports betting, watching this gambling industry change rapidly in Canada. What’s more, there are many more exciting innovations to come.” — Rose Davis.

Our expert below has compiled a few of the major changes in sports betting that are already in place today. Additionally, we’ll talk about how this gambling industry may change in the future and what to expect in the near future.

Real-time betting—advanced technology during the broadcasting of sports events

Previously, a gambler who decided to bet his money on a particular sporting event had few options to choose from. It was necessary to contact the bookmaker’s office before the start of the match, having time to make their bet. In the last 5 years, bookmaker’s offices have gone through an active digitalization, which allowed them to accept bets in real time. Now, when a sporting event has already started, the player does not lose the opportunity to place a bet, and the variety of these bets has greatly increased.

The gambler can view the match and make new, additional, bets. Having assessed the situation on the field of play, it is possible to make a more accurate prediction, because there is more data for analysis. It is important that no one restricts the player in the number of bets, he can make a lot of bets from the beginning to the end of the match.

And it’s not even that important, but that bookmakers are beginning to actively use the most advanced technology, giving the gambler more opportunities.

To give you an example, consider a modern playing field visualization technology from Intel. The technology is called TrueView, it is actively used in major stadiums and sports arenas around the world. The essence of the technology is that around the playing field microcameras were installed, and the information from them is processed by a computer. This allows to create a digital model of the field of play with 360 degree coverage. Initially, the resulting model was only used by referees to make important decisions. But today, betting shops also have access to this data to give their players more information.

TrueView technology has allowed betting shops to offer more types of bets to their players. Let’s take a look at a few of those bets that were previously unavailable, but are now being actively used by gamblers:

• Penalty betting. A violation of the rules by a player of one of the teams has occurred on the field of play, and the referee must decide whether to issue a penalty. Thanks to TrueView technology, the referee can look at the situation in more detail and make the right decision. Players in a Canadian bookmaker can bet money, for example, on whether the referee will issue a yellow or red card.
• Betting on technical scores. Thanks to digitalization, players have been able to make unique bets that weren’t even talked about before. For example, today it is possible to bet on how much distance a certain player will run during a game, how many times a player or a certain team will cross the centre line, how many shots on goal or throws into the ring. Furthermore, bets can be placed for the entire match or for a certain period of time in the competition.

All this is possible because of the technology to make bets fair. For example, a gambler in a bookmaker’s office bet that a certain player of the selected team will run 50 km for the whole match. TrueView system allows determining the number of kilometres he ran as precisely as possible and thus select a winner.

Personalization of gambler betting odds

Previously, when players physically visited a bookmaker’s office to make bets, they always enjoyed the general terms, everyone was equal. After the digitalization of betting shops took place, each gambler became a personal user of the gaming platform website. To do this, he registers on the site, enters personal data, and creates his own cabinet to manage his bets. This is a convenience not only for the player, but also an opportunity for bookmakers to create personalized offers.

Bookmaker office can offer the gamblers new and unique types of bets, allows the player to set their own odds and limits. An Experienced Canadian gambler is sure to take advantage of this to get the maximum benefit and increase their chances of winning. Now, regardless of what odds other gamblers play at, you can make a better bet.

Typically, bookmakers today develop their own loyalty program. The program consists of several levels, which players can increase with points for activity and continued membership. The higher a member’s level in the program, the more unique offers they will receive.

Betting on eSports — the main innovation online casinos

The long history of betting shows that regardless of the period, we have always bet on the same sporting events. Most often, gamblers bet on soccer, basketball, tennis, boxing, and other sporting events. That’s why our experts at onlinecasinospot.ca point out cyber sports as the main change in the gambling industry. It is interesting, unusual, popular and very profitable.

Cybersport is an e-sport that didn’t exist even 20 years ago. Essentially, it is a computer game that uses the skills of the best players and allows bookmakers to collect bets. A computer game on a home device is fun, but the same computer game within a cybersport event brings huge winnings.

The main advantages of betting on eSports

As a rule, gamblers prefer classic sporting events. Nevertheless, it is cybersport that is gaining popularity today and developing at an incredible pace. Our experts have selected some of the main advantages of betting on cybersports:

• Lack of seasons. A lot of classic sports competitions are tied to a certain season, there are hardly any tournaments outside that season. In cybersports there is no this problem, you can always find a local, amateur, professional or international tournament.
• Simple rules. Gamblers who bet on cybersports are very well-versed in the game rules. This allows you to control the course of the gameplay and make more accurate predictions. 
• A small number of teams. When it comes to international tournaments, there are not so many favourites. The gambler can determine with incredible accuracy the probability of victory of a particular team.
• The massiveness of international tournaments. If you thought that eSports is all about betting in front of the computer, this is far from it. Finals are held in huge arenas around the world, gathering millions of spectators around them.

But in addition to large-scale tournaments, as there is an opportunity to bet online casinos, which greatly simplifies the whole process. This can be done with a couple of clicks directly in your phone, and then, in case your team wins, it is just as easy to pick up the winnings. More conveniently, after placing a bet, you can pass the time by playing roulette, or baccarat, for example. Gambling is always about emotion, so why not double it? 

“It is important that the casino has 24-hour customer service. Online chat is considered the fastest way to communicate, but you can also check if you can send an email and social media or even call by phone,” gives important advice from one of the casino expert of such a web portal, Robert Lewis.

Be sure to check the expert advice and then your game will give only positive emotions and possibly big winnings.

The main disciplines in cybersports

Here it is quite simple, the discipline in cybersports is determined by the type of computer game that is used by professional players or amateurs. It should be noted at once that computer games are on the market in great variety, but not all of them take part in cybersport events. Among the popular disciplines in Canada are the following:

• Starcraft II—a popular computer game in the genre of strategy, was announced May 19, 2007, but became available to players July 27, 2010. Today it is considered a classic of cyber sports, many professional gamers are fighting for big winnings. The main feature is that it is a solo discipline, so the prize money in tournaments is not the biggest. The maximum winnings that a single player has received in Starcraft II is more than 920,000 Canadian dollars. This is the prize pool that was played at WCS in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

• Dota 2 is a real-time strategy game that is popular with players from around the world. Dota 2 is the undoubted leader of cybersport events, this is where incredible battles unfold. The game was created and released by Valve Corporation on July 9, 2013. According to the website onlinecasinospot.ca today has already held more than 1,500 competitions in Dota 2. The maximum prize pool can be seen at The International tournaments. Typically, the prize pool at this level of tournaments reaches the value of more than 50,000,000 Canadian dollars.

• Call of Duty is the series of first-person shooters, which is popular not only among home gamers, but also among professionals. The statistics of the Canadian bookmakers shows that Call of Duty takes the most bets from the gamblers. The first game was created back in 2003, the last one is dated 2022. Tournaments on Call of Duty are not uncommon, most often the prize pool of international level tournaments more than 2500000 Canadian dollars.

• Rainbow Six Siege is a shooter from Ubisoft, released in 2015. The main feature of this shooter is its focus on cyber sports. Two teams take part in the match, one defends, the second attacks. Tournaments on Rainbow Six Siege are gaining popularity in Canada, although they appeared in betting shops recently. The prize pools of international tournaments can be over 100,000 Canadian dollars. 

• Hearthstone is a card game from Blizzard Entertainment, released March 11, 2014. The game uses cards with certain abilities and functions. Players use these cards to destroy an opponent. The prize pool is small, usually in tournaments it did not exceed 30,000 Canadian dollars. The maximum popularity of the Hearthstone tournament in the bookmakers was seen in 2019.

Cyber sports games with maximum prize pools

The popularity of games determines how lucrative tournaments can be for their participants. The prize pool can be as small as a few thousand Canadian dollars or as large as tens of millions. The bigger the prize pool, the more you can win at the odds. We’ve selected for you the games with the biggest prize pools:

• Starcraft II—the maximum prize pool for one participant is $928,000 CAD.
• CS:GO—international tournaments prize pools reach the size of 3 – 5 million Canadian dollars.
• League of Legends—the prize pool in an international tournament of more than 20,000,000 Canadian dollars.
• Fortnite—the 2019 Fortnite World Cup drew a prize pool of 39,000,000 Canadian dollars.
• Dota 2—the maximum amount of the prize pool is 53,000,000 Canadian dollars.

What sports betting can be expected to develop in the future

Sports betting continues to evolve, offering more features and options to Canadian players. There is no doubt that even more exciting changes await us in the future. Paying attention to what sports betting is like today, we can make several assumptions about what we can expect in the near future.

Virtual reality technology is likely to be a staple of future broadcasts. The gambler will not only make a bet and wait for the results, but also be able to enjoy the game with the effect of presence. Some bookmaker companies are already ready to offer such a service to their players. Nevertheless, the main problem is the speed of technology development and the cost of equipment to access virtual reality.

It is very likely that the popularity of cybersports events will exceed the classic sports. Today, soccer holds the lead, but in the future, cybersports will still gain more popularity. This is due to the fact that a new generation of gamblers have grown up on computer games, not sitting in front of your TV screen or at the stadium. Nevertheless, the popularity of classic sports will still be high.

Special games for cybersports tournaments will become commonplace. Already today, game developers are trying to create a product that is not only interesting for gamers, but also for tournaments. In the future, the number and variety of games will only increase. 

Conclusion

Our experts are confident that sports betting and the bookmakers who accept it will continue to evolve. More types of bets, more interesting sporting events and larger prize pools await us in the future. At the moment, the main change in the gambling industry is its complete digitalization. Players do not need to be physically present in a bookmaker’s office, they can bet from their home. It is also important to actively develop cybersport, which is likely to soon exceed the popularity of classic sports competitions.