Major global players in the betting industry have been posting profits as the world continues to grow past the vagaries of the Covid-19 pandemic. The first half of 2020 was a tough one for the industry as the pandemic hit hard and forced a halt to most of the major live sports. The past two years have however seen a shift in operations and strategy for the major players in the industry, a trajectory that is intended to grow steadily heading into 2030.
In the year ending 2022, the betting industry globally accounted for about 83.65 billion in US $ and the growth is projected to expand at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 10.33% all the way to 2030. The big question then is, why didn’t the industry experience such growth before the pandemic? The biggest, and most logical response would be to place the aggressive expansion strategies employed after the lessons from the pandemic as the reason.
The exploration of new markets was aimed to provide cover in case anything close to the pandemic strikes again, and of course, many jobs were lost during the pandemic so the staff costs also went down. Investing more in apps and less human interaction was a necessity after the lessons from the pandemic and technology definitely gave the betting companies some financial edge.
For global companies like Bet365 for example, the full-year performance in the 2021/22 financial year posted a 2% rise from 3.35 billion US $ in 2021, to 3.41 billion US $ in 2022, with most of the revenue coming from gaming as a number of active users went up from 13% in 2021 to 48% in 2022.
Apart from the expansion, companies also introduced new promotions and eased access while toning down on the restrictions and made these more publicized, to enable users to take full advantage. A perfect instance here is the Bet365 voucher code to claim in March which is well-profiled on SportyTrader, and more.
Trends in the digital world have worked well with geographical expansion, reducing the need to hire more staff and the betting industry has taken advantage of this. With smartphone apps, betting companies have better control of their audiences and can personalize services, thus driving revenues higher. This was also a lesson from the pandemic. Research shows that betting from smartphones accounted for 70% of revenue in 2020, a year in which physical sport was shut down.
It is the enjoyable betting experiences and the ability to bet at one’s comfort that gave the betting companies an edge. While at it, governments are slowly getting to realize the power of the betting industry in driving economies and a lot of restrictions are being eased. In the US, sports betting has been legalized in at least 36 states, up from 32 during the pandemic. This, as well as the growing technology with smartphones and internet infrastructure not only breathes life into the industry but proves the government’s approval of the contribution of the industry to the larger economy.
