Poll results: London 2012 better for egaming than Beijing 2008
Readers expect improvement on Beijing Games but still expect London event to fall short of Euro 2012.
A 70% majority of eGaming Review readers believe the 2012 Olympic Games will be more fruitful for the egaming industry than the 2008 games, according to the results of this week’s poll.
Few operators have brought out apps specific to the games, perhaps put off by stringent advertising and branding restrictions which saw Paddy Power feel the need to threaten to take out an injunction against organisers LOCOG.
This is perhaps why not a single reader believed the event – whose opening ceremony takes place in London later today – will be able to compete with major football events such as the World Cup and this summer’s European Championships as far as egaming is concerned.
However there appears to be a general belief that the location of this year’s games will see operators reap more benefit than four years ago, with just 30% of those polled believing the impact on the industry would be minimal.
This follows the suggestion by Sporting Index’s Mark Maydon last week that the UK is “By some distance, the most sophisticated sports betting market in the world,” and that London 2012 would be “The first betting Olympics.”
With the International Olympic Committee having entered into agreements with French and Maltese egaming authorities, and operators such as Betfair also signing agreements with the body, it seems that this summer’s Olympics could well be bigger for the egaming industry than any before. However perhaps it has some way to go before its impact can match that of sporting events with years of influence behind them.