How have VPNs changed the sporting and betting landscape?
The globalization of sport has changed the way in which fans and spectators have been able to interact with the leading competitions in the world. There was a time when NFL fans were only seen in the United States other than niche pockets scattered around the globe from committed diehards. However, the NFL’s commitment to taking their brand beyond their shores with hundreds of international broadcast deals along with their International Series based in the United Kingdom and, from the 2022 campaign, Germany.
The Premier League has taken note of the NFL’s success in this matter and has attempted to create an additional game to add to their calendar to take overseas. Even without an international game, the Premier League has a massive following across the globe to the power and scope of their broadcast deals. Football’s popularity never ceases to amaze, and ahead of the 2022 World Cup the importance of being able to watch and view the best players from around the world is more important than ever to the organizers of the tournament.
Providing platforms for the best competitions to thrive across the world has been made possible by the use of VPNs, which have enabled users in one region to breakthrough location parameters to view content that may have been restricted to one particular country. For fans in the far reaches that want to watch obscure games from the World Cup qualifying rounds in Africa or South America where there may not be a television deal in place, the use of a VPN allows them to mask their IP address to gain access to streaming options from that potential region.
The increased availability of these sports for spectators has opened up new potential pathways for other businesses to benefit, including online betting operators who now have scope to provide new options for their customers based on their new interests. For example, new Australian betting sites such as Unibet have odds for a range of competitions including the aforementioned World Cup qualifying for South America and leagues such as the NIFL Premiership and the Eliteserien. With the knowledge that their customers are interested and have access to more niches leagues or sports they will be more inclined to provide betting markets and odds for users in Australia to gamble on those events.
Before the development of VPNs, there will have been basic markets on events such as the Super Bowl for the outright winner. However, with greater access to games on a weekly basis, betting sites can be more creative with their approach by offering a variety of markets on individual matches along with specials and accumulators that are extremely popular among regular bettors. You will always find outright odds such as winning the Super Bowl for the 2022 NFL campaign, with the Buffalo Bills backed as one of the favorites straight after this year’s event. However, the ability to view matches on a regular basis has opened up endless possibilities.
The ability to be able to provide expanded coverage for different sports enhances the repertoire of betting sites in Australia and improves their all-round coverage of traditional Australian sports such as rugby union, cricket and Aussie Rules. As a result, the industry as a whole has seen a marked improvement in the variety and value provided to customers, highlighting the benefit of global sporting coverage and mediums to offer it.
