We can all agree that the pitch clock is having an impact on the game, and regardless of whether or not you like the faster game and higher score, the impact is going further than just the diamond and onto sports betting sites.
On the surface microbetting and baseball are perfectly matched, with each pitch opening up a number of new single event betting opportunities. Think the next throw will be a ball? Place a bet. Home run? Bet. Strike? Bet. and so on and so on.
Pretty much all the best US betting sites have started to incorporate microbetting onto their sites, which is no surprise given the intention is to lengthen player engagement and activity on the sportsbook, leading to more bets, a bigger handle, and potentially more profit for the house..
But even though the betting sites that offer microbetting as an option can calculate new odds within a second, it still takes time for bettors to consider new wagers and place the bet they want. So logically it would seem like this perfect match may have some flaws with players running out of time to actually bet before the next pitch crosses the plate.
Or not.
The CEO of Simplebet (the world leader in microbetting technology) has said that 90% of microbetting on baseball happens within the 15 second pitch clock, which means the faster pace isn’t necessarily a problem for the majority of bettors.
On top of that, pretty much all microbetting wagers are done on a ‘gut’ feeling since the ability to calculate odds and tendencies associated with singular pitches and batting outcomes in baseball just can’t be done that fast by a human. The immense backend programs and algorithms that can pump out odds for microbetting in under a second take in absurd amounts of data from historical matchups to current weather.
So unlike traditional betting where anyone can look at stats and matchups to think about who might win the game or if a player can hit a dinger during the game, microbetting focuses on quantity of instant results that is more aimed at keeping people engaged rather than being a legitimate betting option for winning big.
This brings about an interesting parallel with the actual pitch clock rule change in baseball – coming down to the fact that there really hasn’t been a significant change for viewers, and if anything, it has improved the fan involvement and engagement by reducing the time between action and generally shortening the game.
Increased engagement with baseball games because of the pitch clock ended up working just like microbetting, which gives bettors small, quick bets in line with the more consistent action on the field. And let’s not forget that many betting sites are actually bringing live streaming for the MLB directly onto their platforms, giving even more ways to heighten player engagement alongside more betting.
So no matter what you may have heard about this new(ish) kind of sports betting, baseball and microbetting are still the perfect pairing, you might just need to be a tiny bit quicker when you press that ‘place wager’ button.
