The Ultimate Fighting Championship, better known as the UFC, is set to become an active member of the betting industry.
As the world’s leading mixed-martial-arts promoters, UFC believes it can enhance its fan experience by embracing sports betting.
Accordingly, it will soon launch an elaborate UFC data feed that US sportsbooks will be able to use to ramp-up their live, in-play betting programs.
In partnership with sister company IMG Arena, UFC plans to make available to the nation’s sportsbooks at least 50 betting options per bout.
This will include 20 new types of in-play bets which will be updated in real-time as the fight’s progress.
“The UFC Events Center and its official data feed will be a game-changer,” Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White told ESPN last week.
UFC fans “going to love new betting options”
“We have the most passionate, die-hard fans of any sport, and they’re going to love the option to place bets live during a fight.
“Betting operators are also going to love this product because, unlike other sports, UFC has no offseason. The action will be non-stop for fans and sportsbooks alike.”
Photographs, logos and fighter biographies will be included with the data provided by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. To make use of it, the nation’s sportsbooks will be asked to pay a license fee. They will also pay an undisclosed share of the gross gaming yield.
In-play wagering has become increasingly popular since the prohibition of sports betting in the US was lifted in May last year. It has put fans of sports like football, baseball, basketball, soccer, golf and tennis fans closer to the action than ever before.
They have been reveling in the urgency and excitement of betting on the go and UFC wants to give its fans the same opportunity.
In-play betting in the fight sports like boxing and MMA has been around for a while. Mostly, however, it has revolved around updating odds as the fight progresses
New data feed offers many new betting options
The UFC Events Center’s data feed promises to give the fight game a whole new betting experience with wagers never available before.
“In-game betting is the fastest-growing part of the sports-gaming industry,” Lawrence Epstein, UFC’s chief operating officer, is reported to have told Bloomberg.
“Some of the stuff we’re doing is stuff that hasn’t been done in the past.”
According to the report, the type and number of live-betting options for UFC bouts has seriously trailed behind other sports.
IMG Arena claims that only 8% of live bets on UFC fights are placed after the fight starts. Other sports such as tennis see 70% of all betting activity taking place while the game is in play.
The new in-play betting options offered by the Ultimate Fighting Championship Events Center are intended to change all that. They will include odds for the:
- Total number of take-down attempts…
- Whether a fighter gets knocked down during the action’’
- The total number of strikes landed and…
- The total amount of time a fighter spends on the mat.
And there could and should be many more options. The UFC is already able and willing to ensure that much. It has been in the business of collecting data for some time now.
