How Has Big Data Changed the Face of Gambling?

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Big Data. Image Credit: Shutterstock

With the growth of online gambling, big data has become an integral part of the industry, helping to determine odds and personalise games.

In 1994, Microgaming was the first company to launch online gambling services. Since then, the industry has moved forward by leaps and bounds. Today, with online wagering reaching new heights in popularity, big data for gambling has become crucial for accurately determining odds and personalising games to suit every player. 

The demand for these services is so high that the online gambling industry is constantly hiring teams of big data engineers and technicians to conduct the necessary analyses. Here are a few ways that big data is changing the face of gambling today:

What is Big Data?

“Big data” refers to large volumes of unstructured and structured data that businesses accumulate daily. However, the amount of data gathered is not as significant as what gets done with that data. By analysing big data, companies gain valuable insights that help them plan strategic business movements and make better decisions.

Although the term “big data” is new, gathering and storing vast amounts of information for analysis has been going on for years. In fact, the concept began at the beginning of the millennium and had been evolving ever since.

Establishing Odds

One of the critical uses of big data in the gambling industry is for establishing odds by sportsbooks. Bookmakers first used big data analysis to help them analyse earlier games, determine winning and point-scoring patterns, and establish accurate odds to offer their punters.

By using this information to personalise the bookmaking process and offer tailormade odds, push notifications, and selective real-time offers, the online face of the gambling industry was changed for the better, with punters now able to get a better and more customised deal suited to their needs.

Accurate Outcome Predictions

Players can also harness big data analysis to predict the outcome of events and achieve more significant wins. Bettors can now compare the data of two teams and then try to predict the outcome of their game. This is the same way sporting organisations use big data to analyse the tactics and players of their opponents so they can determine which tactics to utilise during gameplay.

When advanced big data analysis is used, it becomes possible to predict a winner in over 90 percent of cases. This was proven during the last World Cup when Google Cloud DataFlow and Google BigQuery were used to predict the result of certain matches.

Poker Strategy Development

Large poker tournaments are a staple on TV, with the top poker players enjoying celebrity status. Playing online poker has become a popular pastime, with the number of competitions on the rise.

As a result, websites are beginning to realise the benefits of big data analyses and are starting to track all the most important poker tournaments globally. This involves recording players’ statistics and allowing the site’s users to use this information for their games.

Enhancements in Casino Marketing

Big data gambling analysis plays a pivotal role in changing marketing strategies at casinos. By customising offers to players, the face of gambling is slowly changing, with certain venues becoming more appealing to specific player groups.

Both brick-and-mortar and online casinos harness big data’s power to improve their marketing campaigns. And, thanks to cookies, they can use information ranging from the types of games players prefer to what patterns of games they play, and even what they like to eat to generate personalised campaigns and promote better customer loyalty.

For example, this can be done online and in brick-and-mortar casinos by sending players promotional bonus email offers on their favourite slots or offering loyalty coupons for restaurants they enjoy to attract players back to the casino.

These days, there are more online and offline gambling opportunities than ever. Therefore, the importance of big data across the entire gambling industry cannot be overstated. Big data is undoubtedly the way forward with more tailored marketing programmes, accurate odds, and efficient and effective playing strategies for gamblers.

Bojan Lipovic - Digital Project Manager

Bojan Lipovic - Digital Project Manager

Besides polishing his SEO skills, Bojan has a penchant for creative writing. With over half a decade of experience in the online gambling industry under his belt, his written take on the latest news from the Canadian and global gambling industries is an indispensable source of information for the CASINOenquirer team. Bojan’s primary goal is to ensure that players get a superior experience through the top-notch content that he shares.

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