FANDUEL has taken the first steps towards a new evolution for online bookmakers in the United States.

The bookie announced today that it would be offering live streaming for certain tennis and soccer games on their website and smartphone app.

The move, already adopted by Australian bookmakers and online betting firms in Europe, will seek to give punters the ability to both watch and bet on sport, all on the one device.

The actual sport available to watch via FanDuel — which is German soccer and smaller ATP tennis games — is hardly anything to write home about, but it’s clear the bookmaker will be using them as a template before chasing the rights for the US major sports.

FanDuel has teamed up with Sportradar to offer the new live streams, which, predictably, has proven to significantly increase gambling interest when offered on major sports in Europe and Asia.

Why is live streaming important for bookmakers?

It’s not rocket science.

Ask yourself the question, are you more or less likely to place a bet on a race if you’re able to watch it?

The fact is, punters are three times more likely to bet on sport if they are able to watch it.

In addition to that, if you do have your hard-earned on a race, or a game, it’s more likely than not a punter is going to want to watch and see how his bet goes.

The first bookmakers in the US that can offer that live streaming for all major sports in the US will be on to a big, big winner.

In Australia and Europe, ‘live’ streaming is often restricted to lower resolution, small screens and can be delayed by a few seconds due to rights deals with sporting organisations.

You can bet your bottom dollar that sporting organisations in the US will be watching the result of FanDuel’s newest initiative closely, given it could open up a whole new market to sell their broadcast rights to.

Latest US betting news

[rm_recent_news tags=”US, gambling legislation, FanDuel” title=”” ajax=”true”]