Bet365 boosts in-play product with Live Golf Tracker innovation

Bet365 has strengthened its in-play proposition with a new Live Golf Tracker where punters can track every drive, iron and putt from the comfort of their own homes.

The product is powered by live tracking data from IMG Arena and soft-launched on 8 October to coincide with the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open on the PGA Tour.

According to bet365, the new tracker allows users to navigate between individual scorecards and tournament leaderboards, while the console retrieves shot-by-shot text and data for all players.

Two par-3 holes from selected tournaments will be live-streamed daily, giving punters the option of a conventional live streaming experience or the new interactive course visualisation.

The Live Golf Tracker will appear alongside in-play markets shortly before the first tee-off time on a wide-range of PGA and European Tour events excluding majors.

The foundation of IMG Arena’s in-play betting software is the PGA Tour’s long-running ShotLink system, according to SportBusiness.

The proprietary data capture solution was recently upgraded by IMG Arena to deliver the standard of data required by sportsbooks to accurately price live betting markets.

ShotLink data was typically curated by walking scorers, greenside cameras and lasers and has now been supplemented by IMG Arena with GPS technology and additional cameras.

Stoke-headquartered bet365 currently has 118 job vacancies live across its technology function despite onboarding more than 100 new colleagues in recent months.

In March, bet365 expanded its tech footprint into Manchester by signing a five-year lease on a 25,000 square-foot office space in the heart of the city’s financial quarter.

Elsewhere, bet365 has recruited Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul to front its US-facing television ad campaign as it seeks to grow market share in America.

Paul, who played Jesse Pinkman in the hit AMC series, has taken the position occupied by Ray Winstone in the operator’s UK marketing material.

The ad, which can be viewed here, went live on the East Coast in July to coincide with the return of the NBA after Covid-19-enforced suspension.

Bet365 is currently live in New Jersey only.

Boutique research firm Eilers & Krejcik Gaming said in an August column for EGR NA: “We’re seeing signs that global online sports betting behemoth bet365 may finally be putting its foot on the gas pedal in New Jersey.

“In June, its share of the Garden State online sports betting market hit an all-time high of 2.6% in GGR terms (versus 0.3% in the 12- month period ended June 30, 2020), per our proprietary tracking.

“The share increase was accompanied by the launch of televised adverts in New Jersey and the debut of signage at Yankee Stadium in New York.

“We also note that Google search interest in bet365 is trending up in New Jersey.”