Traditional bookmakers require their customers to visit a specific physical location, a proper brick-and-mortar address, while online platforms can be accessed from just about anywhere, as long as the customer has a decent internet connection. According to Safest Betting Sites, these sites also allow their customers to be “confident that [their] money and [their] data is secured”.

Online betting offers customers the ability to place their bets on an enormous range of the most popular sports (soccer, boxing, rugby, etc.), but the variety also extends beyond the world of sports, including everything from the world of entertainment to breaking political news and events. Every customer has their own preference when it comes to their own particular interests, and online betting sites make sure that there is something available for everyone.

Online betting sites also offer a huge variety of betting options when compared to traditional bookies, which includes the likes of parlay betting, prop bets, live betting, and exotic betting. The extensive range of betting options is a huge reason why online betting has proven to be increasingly popular in recent years.

If you’ve never heard of these kinds of betting options before, then allow us to explain them to you:

• Parlay Betting: this form of betting allows customers to combine multiple bets they’ve made into a single wager, with the potential outcome being that the customers will receive a much larger payout if all of the bets are successful.
• Prop Bets: placing these bets involves specific outcomes within a larger overall event, for example, the first player to score a goal in a football game.
• Live Betting: even as the event is happening in real-time, Live Bets still allows you to place the bet as they are taking place
• Exotic Bets: a special, perhaps otherwise unusual brand of betting that are usually tied to one-off events, such as the winner of a reality TV show or choosing the next elected political leaders.

As the popularity of online betting continues to increase, the other side of that equation sees a decline in the popularity of traditional bookmakers. The younger generation of bookmakers’ customers are more naturally drawn to the convenience and variety of placing their bets online on their smartphones and computers, meaning far less foot traffic in physically located bookies. The time saved from being able to access their favourite online bookmakers on their devices, as opposed to travelling to, potentially waiting at, and then returning from the traditional bookmakers allows these customers to spend more time doing the other things they enjoy throughout their days.

Following this downturn in popularity, traditional bookmakers are taking stock, looking internally at how to run their businesses more effectively and efficiently, and seeking out options that might potentially bring customers back to their physical locations.

Bookmakers in these locations across Belfast have sought out improved in-house technology that can help elevate each and every customer’s experience while visiting the bookmakers. These include self-service betting terminals, as well as live streaming of a wider variety of sporting events on the screens within the address.

Another way that the traditional bookmakers are attempting to maintain a competitive edge with the online gambling sites is to up the social angle of the location itself. This can range from improving the comfort of the seating areas within the bookmakers to providing food and drink options, as well as offering the opportunity to organise events for customers to engage and socialise with each other in person.

Competing bookies are also attempting to present the most attention-grabbing odds and promotions, which will be guaranteed to both attract and retain customers. The upside of this type of competition amongst the different bookmakers is that it results in a better end result for the customers themselves, as they will ultimately benefit from improved comfort, increased variety, and superior odds.

So while the increase in popularity of online betting has absolutely had an impact on Belfast’s traditional bookmakers, the changes in the industry have forced the circumstances to be massively improved for the customers overall. Regardless of where customers decide to place their bets, they’ll be met with a never-better experience.