As sports betting matures throughout the world, the next phase of growth is increasingly defined by how well the industry understands the viewer, not how many markets it offers. That was the central theme of a session at ICE Barcelona examining the forces reshaping in-play betting and live-sports experiences.
Speaking from the Sport Leaders Conference stage, Paul Boustead, Vice President of Cloud Product Strategy at Dolby OptiView, framed the future of sports betting around three intersecting ideas: storytelling, experience, and personalization. Together, they reflect a broader shift in how audiences consume sports and how betting now fits directly into that experience.
Sports viewing, Boustead noted, is changing rapidly. Audiences are increasingly accustomed to short-form content, algorithmic recommendations, and personalized feeds shaped by their behavior elsewhere online. At the same time, sports rights are becoming more fragmented and expensive, putting pressure on leagues, broadcasters, and betting operators to keep viewers engaged longer and bring them back more often.
That tension, he argued, creates an opportunity more than a constraint. Sports already deliver live emotional moments that other forms of entertainment struggle to replicate. The challenge is making those moments more interactive and more relevant to each viewer.
In-play betting plays a central role in that evolution. Unlike pre-match wagers, in-play and micro-betting draw viewers deeper into the live action by asking them to pay closer attention to what’s happening moment by moment. A bet on the outcome of the next pitch, pass, or play naturally increases engagement, turning passive viewers into active participants.
The growth of in-play betting supports that view. While it has long been established in European markets, Boustead pointed to accelerating adoption in the United States, where in-play wagering is now accounting for a growing share of sportsbook revenue. As data collection becomes faster and more automated, the range of in-play opportunities continues to expand.
That data layer is foundational. Advances in automated data capture mean that events on the field can now be reflected in digital feeds in near real time, often within fractions of a second. This not only enables faster in-play markets, but also supports richer viewing experiences, from advanced statistics to predictive overlays that help viewers understand what to watch next.
Personalization builds on that same foundation. Rather than delivering a single broadcast feed to every viewer, over-the-top streaming makes it possible to tailor experiences based on preferences, behavior, and context. Different camera angles, alternate commentary, customized data overlays, even predictive highlights can be delivered to different users watching the same event.
Boustead described this as a shift from asking viewers to customize their own experience to proactively presenting content that aligns with their interests. Betting behavior itself becomes a signal. When a viewer places an in-play wager, that interaction provides insight into what they care about in that moment, creating opportunities to adjust the experience in real time.
The convergence of betting and viewing is also reshaping distribution. Historically, watching and betting happened on separate screens or platforms. Today, integrated “watch-and-bet” environments are becoming more common, supported by streaming-rights agreements and low-latency delivery. As live sports viewing increasingly moves online, these integrated experiences are becoming easier to build and scale.
Underlying all of this is a broader shift toward participation. Viewers are no longer just watching sports together through social media and messaging platforms. They’re also reacting, sharing, and increasingly expecting immediacy. Delays that were once tolerated now disrupt the experience, especially when betting or social interaction is involved.
The session closed with a clear takeaway. The future of sports betting isn’t defined by adding more markets or features, but by using data, storytelling, and personalization to create experiences that feel timely, relevant, and engaging. In-play betting, when aligned with the live sports experience, becomes less of a standalone product and more of a connective layer between the fan and the game.
For an industry navigating shifting viewer habits and rising competition for attention, that integration may prove to be one of its most valuable assets.
