Opening Thoughts
Predicting the look of any industry or sector a couple of years from now is challenging enough, and it’s even more true for a sector like sports betting, which continuously implements the latest tech changes and customer demands. But if we jump in our time machine and crank the dial to 2035 – what could the sports betting market look like at that point?
Many experts and analysts debate the changes we could see over the next ten years. Still, some underlying components and factors could indicate some key developments we witness between now and 2035. Let’s take a look.
The Rise Of Alternate Payment Betting Markets
As sports betting platforms’ digital capabilities continue to expand, one of the most eye-catching areas of growth since the beginning of the 2020s has been the sustained interest in cryptocurrency and alternate payments.
Although cryptocurrency is taking up a significant part of this conversation, there’s always been a notable rise in sweepstakes platforms, which allow customers to play with on-site currencies instead of real money or crypto.
Bitcoin doesn’t just dominate the world of crypto; it also dominates the world of cryptocurrency sports betting platforms. While betting on sports might be a market that has been around for generations, predating the internet and alternate payment ideas, like crypto, are taking the sports betting market into the future.
Some bold crypto enthusiasts believe that the price of 1 BTC could reach $200,000 this year. Although this is certainly ambitious, if crypto sports betting platforms continue to implement the technology and more people invest and use their assets to place bets, then interest in digital assets will continue to climb. If it continues on its current trajectory between now and a decade from now, it could easily be one of the main payment methods.
AI Tipsters & Predictions
AI is becoming such a disruptive influence in the technology world that it’s only a matter of time before we come across predictions and tips driven solely by AI. It can digest terabytes of data in milliseconds, and while it might not have the intelligence to differentiate the different nuances that currently exist in sports betting, in 2035, this might be a thing of the distant past.
More gamblers are requesting tips and information from AI, including what specific markets mean. However, you can find definitions from blogs for a range of derivative sports betting markets, such as under or over 2.5 goals. Part of the beauty of sports betting is that previous head-to-head records, individual player data, and statistics can help you to some degree, but it will never be certain. If it could, there would be provable formulas that guarantee wins.
AI might be able to weigh up the information and provide a quicker assessment based on the same criteria, but it won’t have any greater insight as it won’t account for human nuance. However, it will almost certainly play a big role, and sports betting platforms will be racing to implement the technology into their gaming mechanics to keep up with their competition.
New Markets Challenging The Old Guard
Traditional sports betting markets are still driving the growth of online sports betting, with football, tennis, and American sports comprising a large chunk of the growing demand. However, some of these markets have been available for over 20 years, and there’s always a market for those alternate sports betting markets that can offer something new and unique.
Professional video gaming, also known as eSports, is one of the fastest-growing sports betting markets. Although it still can’t match the might of football and American football, its growth over the last decade has been impressively quick.
Counter-Strike 2 tournaments, for instance, are multi-million dollar tournaments, with the biggest CS2 tournaments in 2025 guaranteeing that top players will take home millions of dollars in winning fees. Although it is still on the fringes of sports betting for now, despite audience viewing figures in the millions, in 2035, it could comprise a much more significant portion of the market.
The rise of virtual reality headsets could further broaden this market, with gaming competitions becoming a larger part of the growing sports betting industry. While it might not seem likely at the moment, who knows where the market could be 10 years from now?
Conclusion
Some elements of sports betting are almost certain to become significant parts of the industry by 2035. The number of people still using sports betting platforms on their smartphones and via mobile apps will almost certainly increase, as will the use of alternate payment methods like Bitcoin, which we have already touched on today.
Nobody knows exactly what the sports betting industry’s future will look like. However, with the industry set to grow exponentially between now and 2035, those companies that can get ahead of the curve before it happens will be able to position themselves as the industry’s future.
