The younger generation has some contradictory aspects to demonstrate when it comes to sports content consumption and sports betting. While Gen Z and millennials (to some extent) don’t generally like to closely follow sports, nor do they immerse themselves in undistracted and undisrupted viewership of sporting events, they are very much into finding other ways of engaging with sports.
The most popular of these ways is nothing else than sports betting. Whether this involves betting in the best betting site in Bangladesh or in a physical bookmaker in any part of the world. Betting is the ultimate form of sports engagement when it comes to the new gen.
It is somehow odd that younger people tend to adopt lifestyles that include sports and activities, yet they are not so much interested in watching sports the way older sports fans have been traditionally doing. In fact, to be more accurate, it’s not that younger generations don’t like to watch sports, it’s just that they do it in a different way. A way that is yet to be decoded and understood.
One of the most profound effects of the different behaviors and patterns in sports viewership. Sports content consumption when it comes to Generation Z and a little bit of the Millenials is the surge in sports betting. Gen Z likes to bet on sports, even though this does not really match this generation’s love for watching sports.
So, is the generation itself a factor to consider?
For one thing, this may be due to the fact that we are now in a world where everything is much easier and much simpler due to the Internet. Sports betting can be accessible to everyone, from any place and at any time. So, the younger bettors – who are admittedly more tech-savvy and digitally literate- are responsible for the spike in betting, since they can wager more easily.
Of course, the role of the internet is conducive, not to say, a determinant of the growth in sports betting. But it’s not only the web that is causing a surge in industry revenues. It is a fact that the biggest customer base of betting sites and bookmakers now is made up of Gen Z users and these users are largely different from all other sports bettors.
Does the generation explain the growth in sports betting?
Well, to a certain extent yes it does. Gen Z individuals generally report being more interested in sports and getting more hyped and excited while watching sports. When they can get involved or engage with what they are viewing. This spices things up makes a game more fun and thrilling, raises adrenaline, plus it adds extra layers of pleasure, and enriches the experience when viewing or attending an event.
It is a generation that wants action that goes beyond being just the audience of a sports game. Younger fans want to be part of the game in some way and this calls them to raise their stakes in the game.
Another generational explanation of the surging sports betting revenues has to do with the fact that Gen Zers want interaction and communication as they have come to master social media. Unlike what was going on in the past – with most sports fans engaging in deep and often long discussions (or even “fights”) with others over their favorite teams or the sport in general – Gen Zers want to read social media posts and comments of the primary stakeholders (athletes, teams, executives, managers, etc), exchange ideas with others and accordingly derive to conclusions as to how a game is going to progress or how it is likely to end. This causes them to go about with more betting on that same game.
Well, having said that, it is easy to understand that the role of generation is indeed critical in the growth of betting on sports that has been recorded in the past few years. It is definitely a matter of supply – with the internet and all the betting apps available right now – but it is more a matter of demand. And demand is, without a doubt – a matter of generation.
