Before Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube were beamed directly and seemingly permanently into the palm of our hands, sports news traveled using a range of different, more conventional paths. Radio broadcasts, newspapers, and TV bulletins helped fan the flames of sports gossip and the trivialities between different NHL teams. Social media has deviated so far from the norm that players who seemed uncontactable, unreachable, and achieved demigod status now regularly converse with their fans directly on platforms like Twitter.
The professional sports’ proverbial fourth wall has been smashed to pieces by the rise of the internet. While this has proved to be a hindrance for some NHL players, who have come under fire for their antics on social media, it has transformed how we digest the news and information that drives NHL sports betting markets. With news, rumors, and betting markets transcending new levels of accessibility thanks to smartphones and mobile devices, social media has acted as the pathway to connect customers and gambling operators.
NHL Player Endorsements
Social media has changed our society to a genuinely immeasurable scale. Although sports betting companies have utilized this increased level of visibility and communication and used it to their advantage, many have gone beyond that and actively endorsed and players some of the world’s best players who operate in the NHL. We could point to dozens of examples, but the biggest is Edmonton Oiler’s Center Connor McDavid, who recently signed a colossal bumper endorsement deal with an online casino firm.
Across a range of sports, gambling and casino companies have signed substantial endorsement deals, and the trend will continue to increase. Digital platforms have helped facilitate this as they can post real-time segments of what their casino offers, such as roulette, poker, or progressive slots games, and show people exactly what their casino offers.
Having such household names in the NHL providing branding and endorsements to casino games gives the industry more credibility and a firmer foot in professional sports. Social media helps to build that bridge between fans, players, and the casino products they endorse, resulting in further visibility.
How Digital Platforms Fuel Betting Markets
Sports news travels worldwide instantly in today’s society, and betting markets need to react that split second quicker to ensure that their markets continue to move in line with the demand and display the most up-to-date prices. Digital platforms have accelerated the ever-changing nature of these markets. Before social media played such a prominent role in our lives, NHL sports betting markets often moved much slower.
However, given that NHL team news hits social media and receives thousands of interactions within a few minutes, sports betting companies need to be able to adapt to any surprise team updates or injuries to ensure that they don’t get caught out by the speed of social media and other digital platforms.
Celebrities can push the direction of specific markets if they post that they’ve placed a large bet on social media. Drake is a huge A-lister who regularly puts his sports bets on social media to tens of millions of followers, although often with little success. While they can shift the market slightly, the most crucial impact of this for gambling companies is organic advertising to millions of people instantly.
The Future Of Digital Platforms & Sports Betting
As younger generations move into a world surrounded by technology and the internet, they are part of a new wave of customers that have only ever known the internet. Even millennials have some recollection of a time before the internet had penetrated every level of our society. Still, now that more people are growing up with the technology, sports betting companies are expanding their customer base. Their operations are also increasing in size and scope.
The 2023 Stanley Cup took a serious hit in viewing ratings compared to the previous year’s final, but this was mainly down to no major broadcasters airing the game. Social media also helps in this as fans who do not want to pay money to watch the game, and maybe take a more passing interest and keep up to date on Twitter with live updates from journalists.
It isn’t just the sports betting market that has morphed into a different industry because of the internet; how we watch and consume our live sports has changed forever too. Twitter has bridged the gap between fans and players, and although this can result in heartwarming scenes from time to time, it can also result in chaos and comedy.
However, in the world of sports wagering, it’s brought nothing but good things to the industry, allowing big players to post their endorsements, fans to check out the latest odds, and to use the news they’re fed on social media to strategize their hockey bets, with several sectors overlapping and helping each other develop, the future is looking bright regarding the relationship between sports betting and digital platforms.
