Digitalisation is going on steadily. And so more and more offers are being developed that can be used regardless of place or time. Betting on sports is especially popular nowadays. The number of active sports betting has been growing rapidly for several years and the sports betting market is generating billions not only in Germany. But how do we explain this enthusiasm? Researchers have now discovered that it is not just due to technological advances.
The Institute of Journalism investigates sports betting
It is common knowledge that Germans love sports, especially football, of course. From big to small, young to old, and male to female, enthusiasm for football in Germany makes no difference to age groups or genders. Football brings people together, and not just after the 2006 World Cup in their own country, but the way football enthusiasm is lived out has changed somewhat over the past few years.
Because while the percentage of football fans who frequently kick a ball themselves is falling (only 6.3 percent of all German football fans play regularly themselves), the number of those who actively bet on sports is increasing every year. According to surveys, more than three million Germans say they regularly participate in sports betting. But how can this enthusiasm be explained? Although the number of sports betting companies continues to grow, online bookmakers are increasingly featured in television commercials, and even sponsor big German football teams, the researchers wanted the Institute for Journalism at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainzen to be satisfied with these explanations. That is why the men and women around study leader Michael Sülflow decided to take a closer look at sports betting. In their study, the researchers first wanted to find out exactly what the enthusiasm for sports betting is about - and what strategies the participants like to use.
Social aspects are more important than profits
In their investigation, the University of Mainz staff set up their own private betting group with a total of 300 participants, 60 percent of whom were male and 40 percent female. This distribution should reflect the actual gender distribution of people who regularly participate in sports betting.
During the investigation, participants were asked about their betting behaviour. The focus was on betting strategies, the use of the media to obtain information and the actual motivation to participate in the betting group at all. It was also possible to test their strategy and experience at the online Skattefria Casinon. In the end it turned out that for many participants, not only their sporting interest or the prospect of cash winnings, but also the social aspect made them enjoy the game and motivate . Discussing strategies together, discussing the results and securing a topic of conversation with friends and colleagues that is of equal interest to everyone were decisive points here.
The best-informed person wins.
However, it's also interesting to see who wins the race among the participants. Because, as it turned out, those who not only followed their intuition and gut feeling, but also bet on the system, were able to hold onto the top spots.
It also became clear that in some cases the use of media increased threefold. The participants took the bookmaker seriously and tried to gain an information advantage through the relevant media. In the end, it was these people who achieved the best typing results. In total, the researchers were able to name three betting strategies that all participants used:
Expert strategy : these participants made bets based on the information they received from the media. The results of the last games, the current team information and the team's form were taken into account.
Data strategy : these participants only considered betting odds when sending in their tips.
Sympathy strategy : emotional aspects played a role here, e.g. favourite team or teams with particularly representative/attractive players.
In the end, incidentally, the researchers concluded that a combination of expert and information strategy has the best chance of success in the long term, even if, as mentioned above, for many it does not matter much.
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