Four Online Betting Trends to Follow Throughout 2025
Online betting is continually evolving and the entire sector has changed immeasurably over the last decade. Driven by technological advances, the gambling industry constantly searches for innovative ways to engage players and attract potential new users to their products.
Over the last few years, we’ve seen an exponential rise in eSports betting and a shift towards bet builders and prop bets. We are likely to witness further significant changes as we head into 2025.
Gamification
Gamification is a major driver in engaging online sports betting activity. Many new betting sites are now incorporating free-to-play competitions, points-based systems, leaderboards and daily challenges into their mobile betting apps. This gives players a sense of achievement and gives them a valid reason to return to the site on a fairly frequent basis.
This also significantly increases the overall online gaming experience with exclusive rewards, loyalty points and free spins awarded to those who can meet the requirements.
Without any risk of losing cash or eating into your betting balance, these challenges and competitions are a handy tool for spicing things up and stimulating interest in upcoming sporting events.
Gamification has been integrated into other industries with iGaming brands hoping to replicate the success of other sectors such as fitness and hospitality. Making players feel valued and being able to incentivise loyalty are the key aims of this scheme.
Examples of Gamification in the betting sector include Bet365’s Goals Giveaway and Virgin Bet’s FIVES.
Non-Traditional Bets
Although online betting is strongly associated with popular sports such as football, horse racing and basketball, many online sites have found that adding non-traditional betting markets to their apps has enabled them to reach out to a more diverse audience.
In addition to markets relating to popular television shows such as Strictly Come Dancing and I’m a Celebrity, many betting sites now offer odds on upcoming awards ceremonies and celebrity fights.
There have been some suggestions that some political betting markets may potentially influence the US election, yet many punters in the UK and the US will happily wager on the outcome of important referendums.
Players can also predict the identity of the next pope, decide whether a particular celebrity will get engaged in the next twelve months or try to decide which band will headline an upcoming major music festival.
Social Sports Betting
There has been a rise in social sports betting over the last twelve months and that trend looks likely to continue into 2025. Deviating from the traditional model of players taking on the bookmaker, many social sports betting apps allow users to wager against one another with the host taking a small cut from any winnings.
This peer-to-peer betting experience allows groups of friends to compete against one another with many sites creating a weekly leaderboard. Betting is often regarded as a solitary and lonely pastime, yet the creation of these apps has vastly improved the social side of the game and helped foster a competitive spirit amongst like-minded individuals.
Some platforms in the US also offer free-to-play experiences, allowing users or groups of players to place fun wagers on various betting markets in exchange for cash prizes and gift cards.
Immersive Betting Experiences
AI is slowly altering the betting landscape; however, Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) also provide an exciting new dimension to wagering. Virtual sports have steadily increased in popularity as they offer a fast-paced alternative to traditional events.
Decided by a computer algorithm, virtual sports are thrilling, frequent and unpredictable. Bookmakers have increased the number of events which can be simulated with punters now able to choose from virtual horse racing, greyhound racing, football, basketball and motorsport.
AR overlays are becoming more frequent with operators able to access real-time data which can be overlaid on some smartphone betting apps.
These provide valuable insights into gameplay with immediate access to key statistics and metrics. Some firms have also integrated AR technology, allowing players to interact with fellow bettors during the live streaming of a sporting event.
Players who wish to compete in tournaments or visit an immersive live casino can use VR technology to assume an avatar and enter exclusive virtual VIP rooms. The full 360-degree environment creates an incredibly realistic experience for bettors and casino players which enhances the overall experience.