Sports betting has always had a communal part to it. The players watch the game in real-time, regardless of where they are, and they feel a connection with everyone who does so. There’s also a commune between fans everywhere, even if they don’t support the same team or follow the same league.
Cryptocurrencies and bets based on blockchain have put an even greater emphasis on the social aspects of gambling, as technology facilitates it. This article will explore how crypto can be used to foster a sense of community among the players.
A Global Game
Sports betting is a truly global pastime, and it’s not uncommon to find online casinos accepting Singaporean players that offer games played in Japan and wagers in almost any currency, including cryptocurrencies. This has led to interesting developments, such as the rise of what were once small and niche sports and a completely new demographic of players.
There are still countries that don’t allow or heavily regulate sports betting, but with online bets and the use of VPNs; almost everyone can make wagers regardless of where they are.
Live Games
Live games also create a sense of communal effort as the players can follow the games live at the same time. At this point, almost all games could be followed live, including even the smallest and most niche local events. The odds for the games also change in real time depending on how they play out on the field.
With a cashback bonus, players can withdraw a portion of their wager in real-time. The amount they can withdraw changes depending on how the game is going, allowing skilled players to use their advantages.
Copying the Bets
Many sports betting sites and apps allow players to share and display their bets publicly. They also allow other players to copy and use those bets simply. This quickly creates influencers that have a proven track record that their wagers bring in cash and that others are following and mimicking. In some cases, these influencers also get special bonuses and offers from the betting site.
Some sports betting establishments also provide potential bets and tips of their own. These are often considered to be more trustworthy, but it’s important for players to carefully study them and choose to mimic them only when it seems profitable and safe.
Online Communities
Online communities can also be a great way to create a social and communal experience out of sports betting. There are countless channels that the players can use to connect in this way. Some sites have their own channels, others use social media, and many use apps such as Slack and Discord.
These can be used to create common channels or for groups of players to come together, and they can be used before, during, and after the game. Channels such as these are easy to use, and each player can decide for themselves how much they want to participate.
Social Media Challenges
Social media can be used for all the purposes that we mentioned above, but they also have a few features that you couldn’t get with closed channels. For instance, social media posts also have a wider audience, going beyond those who care about sports betting.
The challenges that sports betting sites can create for social media, in particular, include predicting game scores, player performances, or even outcomes of specific plays. All of these foster a sense of community and call for the users to take part and publicize it.
Tailgate Events
Tailgate events are social events that take place after a game or a match. The fans use these to get together, chat about the game, and celebrate or commiserate. Such events were common in bars and often in stadiums as well, and many sports betting sites are trying to recreate them in a digital form.
These can also be used as a forum to prepare future wagers and to change and adapt your strategy based on the outcome of the previous game. Tailgate events are also organized using the channels we mentioned above, including the ones set up by the casino sites.
Charity Events
Sports games can also be a great platform to support charitable events, and sports betting sites are often associated with such events. It’s an altruistic thing to do, and it can be a good PR exercise for them. Sports betting sites often match the donations made by their player as a way to promote donating and to support the cause themselves.
Sports betting sites can also support one particular cause with every wager by donating a portion of every lost bet. Charities that way also foster communities from those who use the site on a regular basis.
Using NFTs
Non-fungible tokens are an exciting new piece of tech that’s often used in many industries and fields to represent ownership. This is also the case among sports fans. It can represent the ownership of some sports memorabilia, and it can be won as a bonus from a sports betting site. Some small teams and leagues also use NFTs as a token of ownership over the team itself.
It, therefore, allows for communal ownership among the fans and, in some cases, even the right to manage the team as a group. These aren’t common but are an exciting possibility that will be used more in the years to come.
Introduction of Fantasy Sports
Fantasy sports are online competitions where participants assemble virtual teams made up of real professional athletes from a specific sport, such as football, basketball, or baseball. Players act as team managers, selecting athletes through a draft process and competing against each other based on the statistical performance of those athletes in actual games.
They have been around for a long time, and recently, they’ve become more widely accepted by the official leagues and teams. Storing and sharing data about each player, team, and league makes fantasy sports more realistic.
Sports Trivia
Sports trivia is an interesting addition to traditional sports betting that’s becoming increasingly popular as a part of the overall gamification. Sports betting sites create a pool of questions, and the player’s answer usually gets bonuses as rewards. Many sites allow the players to create teams to compete against others, similar to bar trivia games.
It’s a way to relax between games and create a sense of community and friendship among the players. In many cases, the players create the questions on their own and submit them to the sports betting sites for approval.
Conclusion
Sports betting is, in many ways, a communal effort in which the players get to interact with others interested in the same sport or event. The pool of players taking part in sports betting is truly global, and it has led to an increased interest in niche sports and leagues.
There are many channels that the players use to connect with each other and discuss games and bets, and these include social media. There are also charity events in which sports betting sites and the players support together. In the end, fantasy sports have also become much more popular than ever before.