Key Ways In Which Blockchain Technology is Revolutionising the Sports Industry
The integration of blockchain technology into the sporting world is completely changing the way teams, athletes, and fans are all interacting with each other. Making anonymous, safe and secure transactions on betting sites, getting fans even more engaged and involved and much more transparency, blockchain is totally reshaping the entire sporting landscape.
More Transparency and Security in Sports Transactions
Blockchain has a decentralised ledger system — which means a much more transparent and immutable record-keeping. This is particularly useful when it comes to huge money transactions like sponsorship deals, ticket sales, and athlete contracts.
With blockchain, every transaction that is made will be securely recorded and verifiable — which means less chance of fraud and financial discrepancies. As well as this, smart contracts, which are self-executing agreements coded into the blockchain, mean that any contractual obligations that need to be met will be done so without any need for an intermediary.
Blockchain in Horse Racing and Betting
Sports betting and horse betting is hugely popular — and blockchain is changing the whole industry by adding more security, fairness and transparency to sites that take advantage of the technology. With blockchain-based betting systems, every deposit, bet and withdrawal will be recorded on an immutable ledger — which means completely fair play and automatic payouts through a smart contract if your bet does come in.
As well as this, blockchain-based tokens and cryptocurrencies mean that punters can take advantage of quick and seamless cross-border bets without having to worry about currency exchanges. This is ideal if you’re someone who likes betting on international horse racing events and doesn’t want to worry about exchange fees, etc.
Tokenization
These days, lots of sports teams and organisations are starting to use blockchain to get fans even more engaged — through tokenization. Fan tokens are basically issued via blockchain platforms — and they let real club supporters actually have a say in club decisions, get access to exclusive content, and even start earning rewards. You can trade in these tokens on digital marketplaces for a whole new way to actually be a real part of your favourite teams.
So, for example, some football clubs in the English Premier League and other major leagues have started to introduce blockchain-based fan tokens that give you voting rights on some of the less important club decisions, like designing a new kit and choices around stadium music. It’s a great way for teams to reach out and properly connect with their fans.
NFTs
Of course, we can’t ignore Non-fungible tokens that have become a real game-changer in the world of sporting memorabilia. Traditionally, people might collect things like trading cards and game merchandise signed by athletes, etc, but NFTs are totally different — as they provide you with verifiable ownership and rarity through the use of blockchain technology.
Sports leagues like the NBA, have started to launch blockchain-based NFT platforms where you get to buy, sell, and trade all your digital highlights and collectibles. They’ve also started to make an impact in the horse racing world — by introducing NFT-based digital horses in virtual racing leagues — meaning you actually get the experience of breeding, training, and racing your own blockchain-based horse.
A Culture of Fair Play
Some of the biggest issues experienced in sports betting is match-fixing, money laundering and fraud — things that are incredibly difficult to get rid of. However, blockchain technology can help to at least minimise corruption in the industry — as there’s a completely transparent and tamper-proof record of every single betting activity. Moreover, using a decentralised betting site means that manipulation isn’t possible — because all of the odds and outcomes can be verified by anyone at any time.
The Future of Blockchain in Sports
Blockchain is only going in one direction... onwards and upwards. And as blockchain technology gets better and better, it will be used in the world of sports even more — and with even more effect. With the introduction of decentralised autonomous organizations (DAOs) in sports governance, fans get to collectively have a say and help make decisions about their favourite teams. Meanwhile, there are blockchain-based fitness apps that actually reward users with cryptocurrency for staying physically active.
There is no doubt that it will get more and more exciting as more people get on board the blockchain train!