Taking a Chance on Sports Betting & Mobile Betting with Real-Time Interactive Streaming

The online gambling industry is bigger than ever. In 2021, the global market for online gambling and betting was valued at US$58.2 billion. With the expectation of growth over the next several years, the industry is now making its way into the United States thanks to legal changes over the past decade.

Lately, much of the online gambling focus in the United States is on sports betting. A 1992 federal law that outlawed the practice was overturned in 2018, opening the floodgates to a whole new industry. As the country decides on a state-by-state basis whether to legalize sports betting, many states also entertain the question of whether or not sports betting should be allowed on the go. Although it would only be allowed for in-state bets, it would provide more freedom to users and allow fans to enjoy games from the comfort of their homes.  

Whether online betting will take off in the United States will ultimately fall to the individual states. There’s definitely room for industry growth as more and more states vote to legalize sports betting (both in-person and mobile), but not everyone is on board. In November 2022, the state of California called a vote on whether sports gambling should be legalized in their state. An eye-watering $460 billion was spent supporting the legislation. Voters, however, were not swayed, and the effort was met with a resounding “no.” Almost 67% of California voters said no to sports betting in person, and over 82% said no to mobile sports betting.

On the other hand, several states have already approved sports betting, including a few with mobile betting options. Arizona, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania, among others, are moving forward into this new territory. With continuing updates to laws in the United States, sports betting has already begun to change the way that people interact with sports throughout the country, adding an extra level of excitement as fans have a personal stake in the game.

To successfully bring online sports betting to life, both the live stream of the game and the betting system have to process data in real time. Many mobile betting providers plan on offering live streams of the games in their apps to encourage fans to follow and interact on the go. If fans watching games online are receiving delayed video streams, fans watching in person might have an advantage when placing bets. In other words, mobile betting options require real-time interactive streaming (RTIS) for the best functionality. Platforms like Red5 Pro can make this a reality by shrinking latency to 50ms or less.

Since interactivity is such a key part of streaming, adding extra features, like video commentary, multi-game viewing, or the ability to hold watch parties with friends, can set providers ahead of the rest. Red5 Pro’s Mixer is a helpful tool for making this happen. The Mixer allows multiple live streams to be combined and then delivered to the viewer as a single stream so they can watch the game from different angles, listen to commentary during the game, and even watch multiple events simultaneously while maintaining real-time delivery.

If done correctly, mobile sports betting has the potential to take the United States by storm. We believe interactive broadcasting is the best way to bring this idea to life. If you are interested in discussing how we can help, feel free to reach out to info@red5.net or schedule a call.