Few sports define a sporting culture as AFL does in Australia. Although certain regions might have a stronger passion for rugby league or cricket, the zealous and vehement support that often sees crowds of 90,000+ pack into the MCG is a sporting spectacle that can rival any other dominant, domestic sport, whether it is Gaelic football in Ireland or soccer in England.

Aussies have benefitted from technological advancements in sports entertainment.ย 

AFL fans are treated to more video angles, gaming highlights, and exclusive content like interviews than they were 20 or 30 years ago. The technology that allows fans to access AFL content so conveniently stems into other markets, too. The betting industry is the best example of how AFL bettors can place inโ€“game bets on their favourite teams, which is our prime focus today.

Sports Betting Trends To Consider

The interactive and immersive worlds of virtual reality and highly competitive, professional video gaming competitions are two of the most talked about betting trends to have emerged since the beginning of this decade. Top eSports games and events have been able to whip up audience numbers you'd expect in grand sporting finals, rivalling events like the Superbowl and the FA Cup final in the United Kingdom.ย 

These numbers should give you an insight into how game-changing and pioneering this industry is, and many professional eSports tournaments have not only mastered the art of digital marketing to a global audience, but gambling companies have also moved into the space and offered existing types of sports betting funnelled through the new eSports gambling market.

While eSports betting has been around for a few years now, as these gaming markets continue to elevate in stature, more money may be available for professionals and tournament hosts, which encourages and ultimately results in subsidiary markets also trying to maximize their margins. In simple betting terms, eSports betting companies consistently look for new markets to make money, whether outright tournament wins or in-play games. This mentality to strive for more spans all sports betting markets and AFL is no different.

AFL Betting Market Size and Trends

AFL is a uniquely Aussie sport and is engrained into the culture down under. Many Aussies enjoy a wager while they are viewing. Figures released this year show that gamblers in Australia have placed bets somewhere in the region of $50 billion. Globally, the betting market continues to grow, and many of the sportsbooks operating in Australia also have international interest in other markets, so the collective strides forward are helping the industry invest their money in better technology and more convenient ways to place bets.

Although mobile app betting has been dominating the market over the last few years, it is a trend that still has considerable upside, according to many analysts in the industry. In-play live betting is becoming much simpler due to the increasingly advanced nature of gambling apps. The future of AFL betting will be via mobile, as it will with most other sports and our society in general, which continues its shift to becoming more mobile-centric by the day.ย 

Other trends include a rise in people placing accumulator bets or multi-bets, as they're known down under. These markets have flourished due to mobile advances allowing bettors to cash out in the middle of games, giving them more flexibility on their wager. Outright accumulator markets are also growing in trend if you're looking for Collingwood to retain their title or bet on the top goalkicker.ย 

Conclusion

Although the domestic nature of AFL betting means that 99% of the betting activity occurs within Australian borders, many trends follow global patterns. Mainly due to the fact the internet has fused so many international sports betting markets and pitted so many different technological advances and game designers in direct competition, there's been a significant overlap in emerging technology, trends, and international sports betting markets as a whole.ย 

AFL betting is nothing new, nor is there anything unique about how bettors interact with the market compared to other popular international professional sports betting markets. At the same time, there will be obvious nuances, such as derivative in-play markets catering to the game's specific quarters and the other events that occur in a game of AFL.ย 

Analysts are divided on exactly how the future of sports betting might look, particularly in the AFL. Growth feels likely, and there's a feeling amongst betting market analysts that mobile apps will play an integral role in maintaining and expanding the growth and reach of the sector. How much new technology like AI or VR will pervade the industry over the next decade is unclear. However, suppose there are ways to implement the technology and bolster the convenience of specific sports betting markets. In that case, companies offering AFL odds will likely look to implement it into their business model.