Today, you can bet on almost anything. During the 2020 Super Bowl, bookmaker William Hill offered more than 1,000 ways to bet on the game.
Proposition bets included:
- How long would it take to sing the national anthem (under two minutes, +180).
- The jersey number of the first player to score a touchdown (11 to 20, +220).
So it’s no surprise that in the $203 billion sports betting industry, data is king.
With the rise of data in sports, platforms like 22Bet Ghana are capitalizing on it. They provide unique in-game betting options and tools for simulating bets. This leads to more wagers and offers attractive odds that boost betting activity. These products rely on advanced models and algorithms. They look at a lot of historical data from players and teams. This includes points and touchdowns. They consider weather, minutes played, venue, location, time, score, and past results. This helps them make accurate predictions.
Athlete data and existing datasets in AI prediction systems highlight two key points. First, what caused the outcomes? Were athletes fatigued or stressed? Did biological processes impact their shooting motion, hip rotation, or speed? What do athletes’ current health conditions tell us about what’s coming next?
Real-time athlete data can change the sports betting industry. It helps track and adjust predictions, reshaping how games are bet on.
Athlete data fuels real-time odds, prediction tools, and micro-betting. This Moneyball shift could change how users enjoy gaming. It might make games feel more like slot machines. This could open up thousands of new mobile bets and products for live sports. These will appeal to people who already track their mileage and health with smartwatches and fitness bands.
Why would leagues and athletes share their data in sports betting? They hardly profit from it, even with all the money involved. Right now, leagues earn only a small cut of the billions made in betting, and players get almost nothing. Most betting data comes from what anyone can see during games. This includes goals, points, and rebounds. It does not come from the leagues themselves. Some betting companies even send people to stadiums to collect live stats.
But athlete data, gathered from wearable sensors, is different. Accessing it would need official agreements with leagues and players. That gives them, for the first time, real control — and a share of the profits. This data can significantly enhance the accuracy of betting models. Plus, it keeps private health information safe.
The potential is huge — billions could be made. But getting there won’t be simple. All parties—leagues, teams, athletes, and regulators—must agree on what data to sell. They also need to decide how to value it and ensure fairness and consistency. The technology also needs to be safe, accurate, and trusted by bookmakers.
Still, this future isn’t far off. Some U.S. states, such as Illinois, are thinking about laws. These laws would allow betting to use athlete data. New privacy-friendly data models are on the rise. They might soon reshape athlete analytics. This change might affect how odds are set. It could also increase league earnings in the growing sports betting market.