Over the years, sports betting happens to be the greatest area in which cryptocurrency has made its mark in the sports industry. The most obvious example of this is when bettors consult with odds to win March Madness and then move on to fund their sportsbooks accounts using the available crypto payment options before proceeding to place their bet. But with cryptocurrencies now finding other ways to influence the sports world, sports fans have a lot more to gain from this.
From high-profile endorsements to lucrative partnerships, cryptocurrency projects can now thrive in sports thanks to a new and fresh audience that offers every involved party the chance to benefit in more ways than one. Therefore, let’s look at what sports fans have to gain from these crypto projects within sports.
A Marketing Push
One of the main reasons why cryptocurrencies continue to venture into the sports world is marketing. This is because the sports world is regarded as one of the biggest entertainment markets in the world, and this brings about the untapped potential to gain the interest and investment the crypto market is looking for.
A good example is the English Premier League. StormGain recently announced that it’s working on a high-profile partnership with Newcastle United FC, where it plans on being the team’s official sponsor for the 2019 and 2020 seasons. This is just one example of the numerous marketing pushes that have been occurring in the sports world. A similar development has also been seen in the NBA. The Cleveland Cavaliers recently got into a partnership with UnitedCoin to help advertise the team’s home games.
These partnerships are greatly beneficial to the sports world, but cryptocurrencies aren’t just limited to offering endorsements for marketing.
Adopting Cryptocurrency In Sports
Thanks to blockchain technology, the sports world offers great potential for a lot of innovation to take place. So, aside from the obvious ways in which sports teams benefit from adopting cryptocurrency within the industry, here are three ways sports fans are also able to benefit from this change.
Payments and Betting
Using cryptocurrencies to facilitate payments in the sports world is probably the most obvious use for it. It creates opportunities for new revenue streams to surface, especially when it comes to the selling of tickets. This is already apparent with teams like SL Benfica. The Portuguese club started accepting crypto payments for merchandise and tickets just last year.
Crypto payments are limited to being used for sales only, as they can also be used for salaries. Players like Russell Okung are known for insisting on being paid in Bitcoin, and over the years, many other professional players have also brought up similar requests, even though no team has adhered to these requests so far. This is, however, expected to change in the near future.
We also cannot ignore what occurs with sports betting. Many betting platforms accept cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin as available payment methods. With this comes many benefits that bettors can enjoy.
Digital Collectibles
Collectibles are growing significantly in the virtual space, and many teams are beginning to take the plunge. Not so long ago, the Los Angeles Dodgers announced that they would be giving away 40,000 exclusive collectibles on another popular cryptocurrency known as Ethereum. In 2020, the NBA and NBPA also made plans to be part of a crypto-collectible game with Dapper Labs.
Anti-Fraud and Administrative Measures
Ticket scalping has always been an issue, but it seems sports organizations now have a solution to this problem. With the help of blockchain technology, tickets can be linked to individual buyers easier by authenticating each ticket on a decentralized ledger. This saves companies a lot of money, and the administrative work behind this initiative will also be easier to do.
In Conclusion
The three benefits mentioned above are just a few highlights that blockchain brings to sports. The sports world continues to see an upsurge of crypto-related companies; therefore, we can expect blockchain technology to be one of the leading fixtures in the years to come.
