In a study released by Paysafe, 5G technology is projected to have a profound impact on the mobile sports betting market, leading to a rapid increase in wagers. This according to the online payment service that owns such brands as Skrill, Neteller, and Paysafecard.
The report focuses on the impact of 5G technology in three specific markets: the U.S., the U.K. and Germany. According to the survey, 42% of regular sports bettors report that they would increase “their in-play sports betting activity with the emergence of 5G.” In addition, 21% state that they will increase the number of sports that they bet on once 5G technology becomes more prevalent.
The report is based upon an online survey that provided questions to 2,506 adults in the U.S., 2,231 in Germany, and 2,269 in the U.K. Nearly half (48%) of those surveyed said they would be more likely to place a bet using their mobile app once their cell service provided 5G connections.
Of the nearly 8,000 people surveyed, 31% stated that they do not gamble at all due to connectivity issues related to the 4G service they receive. An additional 27% were worried about not being able to place real-time bets because of connectivity issues. Only 14% reported having no connectivity related issues when placing bets, with that number dropping to 10% in the U.S.
The study found that as connectivity improvements increase that people will feel much more confident in placing wagers. “5G offers a lot of growth opportunities for operators of mobile betting platforms as it gives better searching, faster transactions and improved in-play functionality,” said Daniel Kornitzer, Chief Business Development Officer at Paysafe. “Our research clearly indicates that consumers have the appetite for the progress and flexibility we see with the emergence of this new standard of wireless connectivity.”
One area where Kornitzer focused on was on in-stadium betting. With 5G coverage expected at most major stadiums within the next year, 41% of all sports bettors surveyed said that they expected to make more bets knowing they could easily do so at contests they were attending.
