The new partnership will facilitate expansion of AI and VR solutions in sports gambling
A new partnership between two giants of their respective fields promises to have strong implications for the sports gambling industry. Verizon and Entain have announced an agreement that will facilitate the innovation of new sports gambling products built around artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR). This is just the latest example of the progress the gambling ecosystem is making with AI technology.
Entain, formerly GVC Holdings, is a major gaming and sports gambling operator with global reach. It is going to work with Verizon to create a VR platform that combines live sports with data and gambling in an effort to create an “immersive experience” for fans to enjoy sports contests, check stats, socialize and more through a single platform. The partnership builds on an existing relationship between Entain’s US-based operations, under the BetMGM Brand, and Verizon’s Yahoo Sports platform.
Says Entain CEO Shay Segev, “To win in the future we need to understand where consumers will be in five, ten years’ time and work with other global businesses also investing in that. We envisage consumers meeting at a game with friends, who could in fact be elsewhere, using virtual reality headsets to watch, interact and share the experience together and, potentially, compete between themselves at halftime or feel like they’re on the pitch with the players.”
The terms of the agreement were not included, but the companies added that the new solution will be offered through all of Entain’s platforms, which include bwin, Ladbrokes, Coral, PartyPoker and BetMGM. With Verizon’s extensive work on 5G networks and applications, the exposure to advanced VR and AI gaming solutions will be widespread.