Behind the Odds: How Technology Makes Betting Happen

In the high-tech world of betting, innovation is reshaping the game. Gone are the days of shady bookies and notebooks. Today, technology is the biggest player handling everything from setting the odds to paying your winnings. Let’s look at how it’s done today and what we can expect in the future.

Technology Makes Betting Happen

From notebooks to betting apps

The first documented bookmaker was Harry Ogden, who took bets in Newmarket Heath, UK, in the late 18th century. Before him, people would simply bet on horses among themselves. Ogden was the first to offer different odds on every horse, calculating their chances of winning. He usually offered bets on one horse – the favourite – against the field, most likely even-money bets.

It took more than 200 years for betting to go from notebooks to sports betting apps, and it was not an easy road. The internet certainly made it easier for bookmakers to update their odds.

Today, betting operators send their bettors up-to-the-minute odds right to their fingertips. Mobile betting is not just about placing wagers on sporting events. Betting apps offer punters constant score updates, live streaming of certain matches, live betting, and even the latest sports news.

Live betting and streaming

Before the internet age, live betting was possible – but not feasible. The bookmaker had to have a screen broadcasting live sporting events, and the punters had to gather at the betting shop and place their bets at the counter. Thanks to the internet, live betting is now available to everyone at the touch of a button.

One of the most amazing things about betting apps today is the possibility of live streaming. Various events can be followed live in the app, and punters can place their bets on the events as they happen.

Setting the odds in the age of AI

Whenever there is a sporting event, each of its possible outcomes has a probability. The task of bookmakers is to make a prediction not based on their guts but on the piles of data available to them. This is where computers can help them a lot – and this is where the industry expects the most resounding innovation in the age of AI.

There are dozens, often hundreds, of betting possibilities attached to each sporting event. The more complex the discipline is, the more possibilities emerge. Smart algorithms will soon be able to analyze the player and team records, consider all the variables, and calculate the probabilities of each outcome more precisely than ever before.