A Look At 888 And The Future Of Sports Betting

Although there is some dispute as to who provided the first online casino, which they did so around the mid-1990s, it all started in 1994 with a law implemented in Antigua and Barbuda which granted this island nation the power to award licences for businesses that wanted to operate online casinos. 

After the launch of the first online casino, companies were swift to realise the potential of online gaming. Soon there were several operators in the market, making the most of this golden opportunity. Initially, the games were somewhat crude by today’s standards, but technology improved, allowing operators to offer more variety and make their games more and more engaging. It all helped online gaming to take off and since then, this activity has always been popular.

Below is a look at one of the biggest companies to have entered the online gaming sphere and triumphed in this highly competitive market: 888 and its sports betting brand 888 Sports. We’ll also discuss virtual reality and how this could be implemented in the sports betting sphere.

How 888 made it big online 

888 started small but has grown into a real industry heavyweight. The company first started life in 1997 as Virtual Holdings Limited and launched its first proprietary product, Casino-on-Net, in May of the same year. 

Fast forward to 2002 and the company would conduct some major activity. This would be the year in which Virtual Holdings Limited would launch the 888.com brand; its second casino product, Reef Room Casino; and a multiplayer online poker room, Pacific Poker. It was a busy year. 

Skip to 2006 and it’s another big year for the casino, as it launched a new casino product with an entirely new graphical interface, new video slot machines and promotions. The following year, 888 would make its first acquisition, that of the bingo business.

The arrival of 888 Sport

But nothing could prepare 888 for the success of 2008. It was the year the company launched 888 Sport. This was a massive launch that offered all four key gaming segments: sports, casino, poker and bingo.

The company would later expand its sports offering by venturing into the Spanish market in 2014 and also into the Italian mobile market the same year. Three years later, in 2017, 888 would concentrate further on growth and expand even more in the sports betting arena. 

888 Sport would take another big step in September 2018. The business would launch in New Jersey, creating its first sports betting offering in the regulated US market. Earlier that year, the US Supreme Court had ruled that states could legalise sports betting.

In 2019, company leaders would seek to drive 888 Sport’s success even more. The company proudly announced that it had acquired the sportsbook technology and associated risk management, product and trading capabilities that were behind the BetBright brand. This gave 888 the full ownership of technology and product development across four major online betting verticals.

Virtual reality and sports betting

Online gaming operators are striving constantly to give customers the very best experience. One innovation that’s beginning to enter the sphere is virtual reality, which could very well be the future. 

Even now, the industry is beginning to see some sports betting service providers experiment with virtual reality technology. One provider has been working on combining virtual reality with live betting on its horse racing offering, using VR technology and Google Cardboard. Players can actually experience the race as if they were the jockey themselves on the horse, they’ve betted on. They can view real time data, too, collected from the horses using GPS tracers. 

VR isn’t possible just online, however. It could become an offering in betting shops, too. Some service providers are looking into setting up VR headsets so that customers can experience the race is they were riding it. At the same time, these shops may combine the VR with the installation of devices that customers can sit on and experience the physical movement of the horse race.

A word on augmented reality

Augmented reality (AR), the closely related cousin of virtual reality, is also beginning to enter the online gaming sphere and become part of the industry’s future. Whereas now, people visit a website to see stats on players, teams, horses or other aspects of the sport they want to bet on, the use of AR means these stats may just pop up on their screen in future. Service providers can also take advantage of AR, however, to market to potential customers by inserting their logo into screens rather than running advertisements.

The world of online sports betting is in an exciting place. It’s a highly competitive market, but companies such as 888 have risen to the top and constantly strive to improve their offering. Now, as AR and VR enter the market, sports betting could get even more exciting than ever.