The sports betting industry has seen a rise in popularity over the past few years. Even during the pandemic, you couldn’t keep punters away from betting. They turned to many online betting sites to get their betting fix.
A great invention that came up during this time was the online betting kiosk. But what exactly is it? And how does it look to simplify sports betting? We answer that and many more things throughout this guide. Let’s begin.
What is an Online Betting Kiosk?
If you’ve ever had the opportunity to bet online, you will have noticed that there’s no supervision on your bets. You get to choose which bet you like to place without any intervention. But you had to do it using your web browser on the operator’s platform.
An online betting kiosk combines both of these things and gives it a physical form. You don’t need to be in front of a computer to place bets if you have a kiosk. Because the software is already integrated in it.
Think of an online betting kiosk as an ATM terminal. There are a limited number of them at any location. And each person gets to use one. A wide collection of betting sports and markets is present in the kiosk. All you need to do is choose the one that you like and wager on it.
Online betting kiosk: A self-service betting terminal
There’s another benefit to using a kiosk. Since you will be on the bookmaker premises, a service team will be there if you need it. You no longer have to wait for a day to get an e-mail reply from customer support.
With the current technology that exists, you can find the four primary betting markets for all sports. Let’s have a look at them in more detail.
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Moneylines
In this betting market, the objective is to bet on the winning team. It doesn’t matter by what score difference the team won. The one that wins the match is the winner of this betting market.
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Point Spread
If you were worried about the final scoreline for a bet, this is the market to do it. Depending on the spread set by the bookmaker, the team you beat will need to win by the set amount of points.
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Over/Under
The bookmaker will assign a value to this betting market for both teams. For you to win the wager, you’re betting on the outcome of the match to be over or under the designated value.
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Parlays
For parlays, you will have to make a series of predictions. To win the maximum amount, you will need to nail all of the predictions.
Which Companies Are Using An Online Betting Kiosk?
Popular betting companies are already making use of sports betting kiosks right now. The one that deserves a big mention is the Irish bookmaker Paddy Power. They’ve already set up many betting kiosks across the UK as well as Ireland.
The interface was made with the help of BocaSports. The cutting-edge technology has been used in over 620 different stores. These kiosks come with a 32-inch colour screen where players can observe the betting markets and place their bets.
Another bookmaker that seems to have done this is FanDuel. They have secured the services of IGT in creating their betting kiosks. You can find these terminals across physical casino locations in the USA.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Sports Betting Kiosks
Advantages and disadvantages of online betting kiosk
We’ve been saying a lot of things about online betting terminals. But why are they so good at what they do? And do they have any shortcomings with them? Let’s have a quick look at the two sides of using an online betting kiosk for sports betting.
Advantages of Sports Betting Kiosk
When you play using a sports betting app, you already know how convenient it is. You can play at any time you want and from virtually anywhere.
That same concept of saving time and making the process more efficient is what’s the driving force behind betting kiosks. You can save time and access betting options more easily with sports betting kiosks.
By giving punters the freedom of placing bets, you can create a stress-free environment that can normalize placing sports bets. And all of this can be done without waiting in line.
The terminals also act as a hub for all of the bets in one place. Punters no longer have to go to different terminals to place bets on specific sports. They can search for matches and place bets without needing any assistance.
Another major advantage of a sports betting kiosk is bonuses. This is something you would never get in a physical bookmaker. But since the platform is digital, it’s now possible to provide these promotional offers to punters using the kiosks.
And last but not the least, the novelty factor. Since you will be using an online digital platform, you can customize it as per your needs. Things like your favourite sports and teams can be at your fingertips, just a touch away.
Disadvantages of Sports Betting Kiosk
A large portion of the staff will lose their jobs
Like any other product, an online betting kiosk comes with its own share of disadvantages. In making everything streamlined and digital, you will be losing an important element when you use a sports betting kiosk. And that is the human element.
You won’t have the pleasure of interacting with another player on your wagers. Instead, you will be left staring at a screen monitoring what others are doing.
While asking someone for help might have had the intimidation factor, there is a huge base of bettors who’d still prefer having that option. This is something bookmakers already know. And you can verify it yourself by seeing how the biggest brand has a mix of traditional services and betting kiosks.
A major real-world concern about online betting kiosk is unemployment. If the majority of the brands choose to shift to digital services, then a large portion of employees would lose their jobs. This will cause a disruption in the job market thereby making it harder for many families.
The last major issue that we want to talk about is the betting limits. To balance things out, bookmakers will offer reduced betting limits on these terminals. So if you were thinking about betting frequently on a huge scale, then you’ll have to be disappointed.
The Future of Online Betting Kiosks
Online betting services are getting more and more advanced by the day. The introduction of betting kiosks is just the tip of the iceberg. It has only opened the gates for what could be a digital revolution in the iGaming industry.
Right now, you can find kiosks in Europe and North America. But in a few years, this might be the case for almost every country where sports betting is legalized. As there’s a lot of investment that has gone into this, there’s no stopping the wave of innovation that will follow it.
There’s no doubt that most bookmakers will adopt this technology soon and you will see betting kiosks at physical bookmaker locations. As a betting brand, you should also consider adapting to this new innovation.
Wrapping Up
Online betting kiosks will soon be used across all of the sportsbooks in the world. Right now, they’re limited in their betting options. But as it starts to get more popular among punters, you will see more options being added.
The self-service terminals will reduce the overall time it took for you to place a bet at a regular bookmaker and increase the efficiency of the entire thing. We’re eager to see when these things are introduced to the masses and how well they will perform.
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