Sports betting primer

Sports betting is gradually becoming the new growth industry of Philippine sports. The international business generated runs in the trillions of dollars, inflated further by isolation caused by the pandemic. In this country, more and more sports are being tweaked in the hope of becoming faster, thus providing more opportunities for online patrons to wager. It’s a potential market that simply cannot be ignored. The moneys at stake are there for the taking.

The envy of the sports betting fraternity has been e-sabong, which has persistently been rumored to be making a comeback soon. The granddaddy of gaming can have up to 300 matches in 24 hours, unmatched in the gambling world. Results are immediate and clear. One participant is dead, game over. It’s simple, straightforward, conclusive. No other sport is as efficient. But with the vacuum created by its (temporary?) absence, many are scrambling to fill in at least part of the void. Gamblers will gamble. Someone just has to give them something which they can choose to bet on.

In other parts of the world like North America, the average bet ranges from $10 to $20 per match, regardless of the sport. In the Philippines, that figure runs between $2 to $5. Revenue is divided between the operator of the gaming platform, who runs gaming sites or online casinos and employs a wide network of agents and sub-agents who encourage, enlist and collect from bettors; and the content provider, unless they are one and the same. The gaming platform operator also pays out to all the winners all over the globe electronically. The content provider receives a small percentage of all transactions, as their costs are relatively smaller. But when you run the numbers, it can be a hefty chunk of change.

The good news is that this situation provides work opportunities for players and technical officials. Organizers of some sports like billiards and 3X3 basketball are already in the pre-launch stage for online streaming of their own. They will be playing matches at an accelerated rate to allow more opportunities to place bets. A third group is consolidating international broadcasts for combat sports. These projects will require hundreds of regular participants, and will give steady, substantial income to them. Eventually, less and less of them will seek income overseas, centralizing the sport in the Philippines. Moreover, the guarantee of regular earning will stimulate these sports further.

For those whose conscience is bothered because these projects may seem to be fueling gambling, take heart. These tournaments are merely content. People bet on basketball, boxing, baseball and horse racing all the time even without this kind of infrastructure. And unlike e-sabong, they have other revenue streams from advertising, subscriptions, merchandising and others. Ultimately, they are merely content providers, and third parties provide the gaming conduit. Gamblers choose to gamble, betting on anything you can place odds on. In this way, the gaming can be used to do our sports communities some good.