Horse racing is one of the most popular sports in the world when it comes to betting. Betting is what defines horse racing as a sport and probably what it kept it alive for hundreds of years. With the introduction of technology, we’ve seen some huge changes in the industry from how horse races are organized and how people bet on horses.
The first and most important change is the introduction of online betting. Online betting began in the late 90s but it seems like the biggest adoption of this technology came in recent years.
Nowadays, people can place bets on horse racing events all around the world without actually attending the race. Thanks to the growth in the popularity of horse racing, people can now also watch races online and bet at the same time without actually going to a racetrack.
Why Online Betting is Important for Horse Racing
One of the biggest disadvantages of horse races in the past was the availability of the races. Since we are talking about a sport that isn’t popular in every part of the world, it was really hard for people to place bets since they had to physically attend races.
With the introduction of online betting, this problem was a thing of the past and it opened the gates of horse racing betting to the rest of the world.
This allowed people to place bets on horse races that are organized in every corner of the world. With that said, the number of people betting on online websites, like TwinSpires.com, surpassed the number of people betting on racing events really fast.
Nowadays, horse racing cannot be imagined without online betting. It is what defines the sport, and the majority of the bettors use online betting websites for placing their wagers.
Online Betting Industry Worth
Ever since online horse racing betting became a thing, we’ve seen some astonishing numbers when it comes to the total money wagered. In fact, we’ve seen some huge shifts in the online horse racing betting industry breaking the record of total money wagered every year.
According to an economic indicator published by Equibase, the U.S horse racing industry recorded the largest annual wagering handle numbers since 2009. On top of that, it is worth mentioning that this increase happened even though we had 30% fewer races last year.
The total wagering handle reached $12.2 billion in 2021, which is a double-digit increase over the year before. The majority of the bets come from online betting which is explainable since most people don’t have access to or a way to bet on horse races other than finding online bookmakers that offer such races.
The rise of the online betting industry was really tough, and it still hasn’t reached its peak. The trouble with online betting was the strict rules and regulations that most countries have. This didn’t allow a new online business to enter the industry and some countries even still have a ban on online gambling.
The Future of Online Betting
The future of online horse racing betting is very bright. Even if we don’t look at the rising indicators of total money wagered or horse races, we can see a trend where people now prefer betting online rather than going to the local sportsbook or racetrack.
Additionally, as the online horse racing betting industry gets bigger, more countries will start to soften their restrictions just to avoid losing some of the capital that circles in the online gambling industry.
This is not the end. With all the technological advancements, we’ll see some huge changes in the online gambling industry introducing new payment methods, ways for betting, different games, odds, and much more.
First of all, we have the introduction of cryptocurrencies in online horse racing betting, which opened the game for all the crypto-enthusiasts to place bets using other currencies than FIAT money.
We also have new entertaining games, that might not be as realistic as actual horse races, but still account for the popularity of online horse racing betting. We are talking about virtual sports, where computer-generated participants run towards the finish line and people bet on the randomized outcome.
Online betting is a very important part of horse racing and something that we cannot imagine the sport without.
