PointsBet rolling out expansive in-play arsenal for World Cup bettors
Operator to deliver over 130 live markets throughout tournament that AGA projects to reach $1.8bn in total US handle
The 2022 World Cup is the first since the rollout of legalized online sports betting in the US, and PointsBet is aiming to leverage the opportunity via the delivery of over 130 in-play markets throughout the tournament.
As part of the global operator’s proprietary ‘OddsFactory’ technology platform, users will be able to wager on a multitude of micro-events within individual matches.
The so-called ‘Lightning Bet’ markets will be offered and settled in one- and five-minute increments throughout the World Cup’s 64 games.
“Our continued investment in elevating our in-house sports betting technology, and OddsFactory, our proprietary trading feeds solution, has allowed PointsBet to produce up to eight billion calculations in less than one second when we have a full suite of live games running in parallel,” said PointsBet USA CPO Mark Hughes.
Examples of the in-play markets that will be offered include Free Kick Awarded, Goal Scored, Goal Kick Awarded, and Shots On Target.
“Soccer is ripe with opportunities to tap into live betting, and we are gearing up for an immense surge in soccer betting activity by delivering our Soccer OddsFactory integration ahead of what will no doubt be an incredible tournament,” said PointsBet USA CEO Johnny Aitken.
The last time the World Cup was held in the summer of 2018, the US betting landscape looked drastically different, with only a few states operational and online betting yet to debut.
While soccer doesn’t rank among the highest-handle sports in the US, there nonetheless appears to be a significant appetite for World Cup betting.
According to a recent survey from the American Gaming Association (AGA), 20.5 million Americans – or 8% of the adult population – plan to bet on the World Cup.
The AGA is estimating that $1.8bn will be collectively wagered on the tournament, with 48% of bettors intending to use an online sportsbook.
“The 2018 tournament commenced just a few short months after online sports betting was legalized in the US, meaning this year’s tournament will be historic in nature with more than 100 million Americans having the ability to place online wagers on the world’s biggest sporting event,” said Aitken.