Analytics and sports go hand in hand just like peanut butter and jelly. Non-sports-fans often mistake those who watch sports as only being interested in how players kick a ball around. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth, as we can clearly see from data regarding the sports analytics industry. It is evident that sports enthusiasts, and especially bettors, have detailed knowledge of sports statistics, odds, and other numerical data. Otherwise, the sportsbook industry and the analytics industry wouldn’t rely on each other this much. Henceforth, the sports industry is the main driving force behind the analytics revolution. Let’s explain:
Big Data, Big Sports Business
Gartner defines Big Data as follows:
“Big Data is high-volume, high-velocity and/or high-variety information assets that demand cost-effective, innovative forms of information processing that enable enhanced insight, decision making, and process automation.”
Given this definition, we can conclude that Big Data refers to a lot of things. One of the most used aspects of Big Data in sports is the usage of live sports statistics for numerous purposes, including gambling (which in turn brings even more money to the industry).
Reputable sportsbooks use what’s called a live sports data API to give their users the necessary information to make an informed decision regarding their bets. Not only that, but Big Data can even crunch information regarding the teams’ and individual players’ stats and predict their future performance based on past events.
For example, if a player was injured in the past, that injury will be taken into account when calculating the odds in the next game they’ll play.
An Increasingly Wider Audience
It wasn’t long ago that the pool of football fans consisted mainly of men that lived near the place of a certain team’s origin. Very rarely would you see American people or American women especially place bets on European football teams like Juventus, Real Madrid, or Barcelona to name a few.
However, during the past few years, and especially thanks to the pandemic-related restrictions, more and more people started following sports from other states and even other continents. Because of this, the worldwide audience for a single sport has increased dramatically, and the number of bets related to key teams has grown significantly.
The same thing is true for other sports as well (as you can see in these statistics). The expansion of sports-related interests, unrestricted by national borders, has changed the landscape of betting and pay-per-views for the better.
Sports Beyond Big Data
Collecting the data is just one part of the entire process. Knowing how to analyze and interpret the data is yet another key step for obtaining the large sums of money that bettors, sportsbooks, and sports clubs alike transaction within the pool.
This data can be used not only in creating relevant statistics but also in marketing. Whether we’re talking about sportsbooks, clubs, or anyone in between, relevant data can help a seller target their potential customers much better than ever before.
For example, data gathered from search engines can help a website owner construct a much better and more focused SEO strategy to get organic traffic instead of relying on paid clicks. Social media platforms also offer you the possibility to gather data and target your ads more accurately instead of second-guessing everything when posting. Bear in mind that we’re talking about an industry that surpasses numerous others when it comes to finances, sponsorships, and so forth.
Final Thoughts
Sports statistics and analytics play a significant role in the industry. Without this luxury, everything related to sports, including marketing, betting, attendance, and so forth, would most likely crumble.
Imagining a world without such amenities in the sports industry is truly hard. Impossible even. Not even a worldwide pandemic managed to put a stop to so many people’s common passion. It will be interesting to see how the industry will evolve from now on during the following decades.
