Author: Sebastian Scheplitz
Ever since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic well over two years ago, the retail landscape has taken a dramatic hit. With people from around the world forced to stay inside and various retailers forced to shut down, consumers began to find new ways to enjoy the things they like from the comfort of their own homes.
You don’t have to look far to see the impact this sudden shift had on retailers of essential goods such as food, groceries, and healthcare, all of which experienced a massive increase in demand.
However, one sector that also changed significantly is the sports wagering industry, with millions of sports fans turning to online platforms to place their bets.
This recent boom of online sports betting has led to tons of sports betting innovations, not the least of which includes the introduction of sports betting kiosks.
So, let’s see what it’s all about.
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The Rise of Legal Sports Betting
Over the past decade, sports betting innovation has taken off as more and more countries continue to legalize sports betting.
In the UK, for example, sports betting was largely left to the rich and wealthy throughout most of the 19th and 20th centuries but was still technically illegal to the general public.
Although, with the rise of organized sports, most notably horse racing, the industry grew, and in 1906, the Street Betting Act regulated the form of smaller bets in the UK.
This eventually paved the way for the Betting and Gaming Act of 1960, laying the foundation for what has become one of the UK’s hottest markets in 2022; legal sports gambling.
In fact, while policies regarding regulation and legality vary by country, Europe as a whole has been incredibly progressive when it comes to sports betting laws.
It’s also home to the earliest form of legal sports gambling, including the Greeks and Romans wagering on the Olympics and gladiator games nearly two thousand years ago. It has since remained one of the largest sports betting markets in the world.
The United States, however, was a little late to join the party due to the Chicago Black Sox scandal of 1919, in which players were bribed to throw games on purpose.
Following this, Major League Baseball started to crack down on sports betting, and the industry suffered various legislative reforms throughout the 50s and 60s to prevent the expansion of legalized sports betting even further.
This was before having to deal with the ultimate blow of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) of 1992, which banned states from legalizing sports betting for the foreseeable future.
Thankfully, after decades of court battles, in 2018, the United States Supreme Court made it legal for states to establish their own sports gambling laws without any interference on the federal level.
This marked the first time in nearly a century that citizens could legally bet on sports outside having to work through the state’s respective casinos – a huge moment in American history as, for decades, the state’s casinos were the only places U.S. citizens could legally bet on sports.
All of this is to say that nowadays, the process of betting on sporting events is much easier regardless of where you reside. Today, anyone in North America, Europe, or the UK can place a bet on just about any sport using one of a variety of online sports betting websites, presenting more freedom and flexibility to profit off the sports you love than ever before.
However, since more countries are just now starting to legalize sports betting, there’s an increased demand for catering to a larger consumer base across new markets.
As a result, more sportsbooks and casinos are now starting to introduce the concept of self-service betting terminals, otherwise known as sports betting kiosks.
What Are Sports Betting Kiosks?
A sports betting kiosk offers bettors and sports fans the unique opportunity to place wagers on various sporting events without needing a smartphone or any sort of clerk to be present during the transaction.
Similar to the kiosks used to check in for a flight at an airport or those used to order food at restaurants, sports betting kiosks feature an interactive touchscreen with up-to-the-second live information and pricing.
They also include various stats, betting markets, and up to four primary bet types to choose from; moneylines, point spread, point totals, and parlays.
Thanks to some of the latest sports betting technology, fans from around the globe can place bets through these self-service terminals, which typically feature nearby customer service terminals to help deal with any issues that may arise.
So, not only do these kiosks offer on-site sports betting apps and user-friendly software but there’s generally a service team there as well to help ease the entire process from start to finish.
Which Companies Are Using Sports Betting Kiosks?
One of the more renowned UK gambling companies that have already begun to take advantage of the latest sports betting technology is Irish sportsbook Paddy Power, which partnered with BoscaSports earlier this year to set up more digital betting shop displays across the UK and Ireland.
With BoscaSports providing cutting-edge digital displays, the goal was to have over 40 Flutter-owned Paddy Power betting shops set up around the UK and Ireland by the end of 2022.
It’s worth noting that BoscaSports has already delivered more than 5,000 Tote screens to 84 of the UK and Ireland’s 86 racetracks. Along with core racing information, these 4K in-shop displays provide access to various tools divided by price and market.
More recently, Paddy Power introduced interactive kiosks to its 620 stores, each of which has an Elo 32-inch color screen that can be used to analyze all of the core details needed to place informed bets on various sporting events.
The company also noted a new concept they’re currently working on that features a writing shelf, an integrated NFC reader, and a thermal receipt printer, allowing customers to print off a betting slip by simply logging into their account via an NFC membership card.
As for the United States, numerous sportsbooks began to install self-serve betting kiosks following the Supreme Court order in 2018.
Today, there are at least five companies that distribute these self-service betting terminals across the country; Kambi, SB Tech, SG Digital, International Game Technology (IGT), and Stadium Technology Group.
IGT, in particular, recently partnered with FanDuel, one of the most innovative and user-friendly sportsbooks in America, to provide high-tech sports betting kiosks to various land-based casino environments across the country through 2024.
More specifically, with their new CrystalBetting Terminal, which utilizes the latest technology to allow bettors to make in-play wagers and provide live betting options on a private and personal 27” interactive touch screen.
Using one of these terminals, bettors can also live stream multiple sporting events simultaneously while placing individual bets and parlays and receive real-time wagering suggestions tailored to the events they’re watching.
Despite being used overseas for years, the idea to implement these sorts of self-service betting terminals in places like the United States and the UK arose during the pandemic due to the considerable shift towards social distancing measures and cashless payments.
Although, with the rise of digitalization and staffless businesses, it was only natural for the sports wagering industry to follow suit, especially with how rapidly it’s expanding worldwide.
Advantages of Sports Betting Kiosks
If you’ve ever indulged in mobile betting using an online sportsbook app, then you already know how convenient it is to place bets wherever and whenever you want, so long as you reside in a region where it is legal.
The benefit of betting kiosks is to provide more accessible and convenient ways to wager on sports, cutting down on wait times and eliminating traditional barriers to the sports betting market.
In 2022, accessibility and convenience are the name of the game, and implementing sports betting kiosks is just one of many sports betting marketing strategies sportsbooks are now beginning to utilize.
In-person, this specialized technology removes the need to wait in line at a window to place a bet as well as the intimidation factor of having to place that bet with a sportsbook staff member.
Furthermore, self-service betting terminals also allow bettors to scroll through various betting options and see possible outcomes in real time.
As a result, fans can better understand how sports betting works and open themselves up to more opportunities to wager on the teams, players, and sports they love. In fact, not only are there various sports betting types and markets to wager on but lotteries and virtual games as well.
According to BetInvest, an international iGaming service provider, these customized self-service betting terminals have been designed to maximize the total number of gambling opportunities for consumers. Meaning you can wager on tons of different sports as well as fast-paced lottery games such as Keno, and roulette.
Thanks to all the promotions offered by online sportsbooks, more and more people are transitioning away from the traditional retail experience.
The result is faster and more active wagering as well as a more immersive all-around betting experience due to the sheer number of personalization and customization options tailored directly to the user.
Disadvantages of Sports Betting Kiosks
There’s no question that self-service betting terminals certainly help to expedite the process, increase sales, and create a more personalized betting experience. Unfortunately, much like anything in life, there are some disadvantages to sports betting kiosks as well.
As previously mentioned, the majority of businesses nowadays are entirely centered around making their products more accessible and convenient for their customers.
However, the downside to installing something like a self-service betting terminal is that you’re completely removing the human element from the experience.
On the one hand, having the self-serve option is likely going to entice people who otherwise might be too intimidated to approach a sportsbook clerk or staff member, opening up an untapped market of consumers.
Although, there’s still a large chunk of the population that feels more comfortable knowing there’s a real person there to help in case anything were to go wrong, as well as those who just like to strike up a conversation in the checkout line.
This is why most businesses with self-service kiosks also have traditional cashiering stations too.
Another disadvantage of self-service betting terminals is the displacement of employees and the number of subsequent layoffs that ensue.
Every business is trying to find new ways to utilize technology in their daily practices, but to completely remove the human element means that you need to completely remove the human, resulting in a higher percentage of unemployment and limited opportunities in the job market.
Lastly, most sports betting kiosks operate with lower betting limits than you would typically find with an online sportsbook or at a casino. So, while they’re undoubtedly convenient and easy to use, you’re also more limited in terms of how much you can wager on a particular event.
Hopefully, this is something sportsbooks will look to resolve in the near future.
The Future of Sports Betting & Self-Service Betting Terminals
The sports betting outlook and the use of self-service betting terminals in Europe and North America are quite exciting.
The sheer level of innovation from various sportsbooks is moving at a rapid pace, and with the amount of money invested in professional sports leagues, it won’t be slowing down anytime soon.
Even though self-service sports betting kiosks aren’t perfect and certainly come with a host of disadvantages, they’ve emerged as a legitimate and widely used method to wager on sports.
The industry is only going to expand from this point on. Utilizing technology like self-serving kiosks is the only way to adapt to the times and reach a new market of consumers to help drive the business forward.
Just like how ATMs allow people to complete transactions without physically having to go to their bank, kiosks allow people a more convenient and accessible way to wager on sports, without needing to go through a sportsbook clerk first.
As Bob Dylan once said,
“If your time to you is worth savin’, then you better start swimmin’, Or you’ll sink like a stone. For the times they are a-changin’“.
The truth is that we can’t control or stop this world from changing, so companies need to learn to adapt and grow with the times, even in the realm of sports betting.
Header Image Source: Photo by Mohamed Ishaq Villan from Pexels
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