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There was a time when the markets for people wanting to bet on the outcome of AFCON were limited.
AFCON is in its early stages but it is already proving to be thrilling and interesting, with plenty of viewers all over the world. The African Cup of Nations is an unusual national competition due to the time of year when it is held, but it has captured many peoples’ imagination as they tune in to watch players they are used to seeing in the Premier League or other top competitions.
How AFCON is Growing in Betting Circles
The African Cup of Nations is held every two years, and in the time between there are always advances in the gambling industry. As well as sportsbook gambling, we are seeing betting companies advance with casino gambling and new technologies.
Cryptocurrency gambling is an area that has grown hugely since the last AFCON, with some estimating that most Bitcoin transactions now involve gambling, an industry that has taken this new trend and really ran with it. Ignition Bitcoin Casino has blackjack, poker, and many other games for people to explore while using the protection and convenience of a cryptocurrency as payment.
On the sportsbook side of gambling, similar technology to that used in casinos is driving things like live streaming, allowing people to be much more immersed in the events, which is one of the reasons for AFCON being more accessible to people in other countries. In the UK, many of the games are streamed live through bookmakers’ websites. In another two years, even more technology will have arisen to help drive the viewership forward.
Global Superstars Cause Growing Interest in AFCON
Did you know that most Premier League clubs have players at AFCON 2023? The most-viewed league in the world is a huge part of AFCON, and for a long time now, the Premier League has been taking the best players from Africa and helping to develop them and give them a stage in one of the world’s most popular sports leagues.
Historically, we’ve seen global megastars like Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure brighten the league with their skill and flair, and at the moment, one of the undisputed best footballers in the world is an African-born Premier League star; Mo Salah. Salah continues to break records for Liverpool and will be a miss to the Premier League while the tournament continues.
Africa’s top national competition doesn’t need favors from the rest of the world to be a superb competition, but it does help that there are players coming from the UK, Italy, Spain, and the US to play in the competition. Many African footballers are among the top players in the world, with a demand for them to play in the best leagues as a result, which naturally brings more eyeballs to watch the AFCON.
The competition also has former Premier League managers and coaches involved in it, with people calling for more managers to get involved, as there are no restrictions on which nationalities can manage which teams. Could a newly unemployed Jose Mourinho find his way to managing the Super Eagles for a tournament?
People have an affinity with stars like Salah and Mane and want to watch them play in the top tournaments, which helps to put the AFCON on the map.
More TV (and Online) Broadcasting
With a lot of football tournaments, being able to watch is one of the major barriers to entry, and there may be a huge audience who simply don’t have a way to tune in, or can’t afford to.
AFCON is definitely becoming much more accessible in this way, with even some free-to-air games available in the UK meaning that people can watch on terrestrial television. Not a lot of football is broadcast free in Europe, so this means people may be more interested in tuning in.
As well as this, there are some methods to watch games online, and even if you can’t see the game in real-time, the competing countries are putting highlights and clips up on YouTube for people to watch. Through apps, people can also follow the games and their results wherever they are.
More Betting Coverage
Betting sites and sportsbooks are also offering a lot more coverage of some of these top fixtures. There was a time when the markets for people wanting to bet on the outcome of AFCON were limited, and people could only really bet on things like match winners and the winners of the tournament. Now, there are markets such as individual player markets for yellow cards and shots on target, or even fouls committed in a game. Growth in the betting interest can come from added markets giving people more choice on which aspects of the game they want to bet on.
Plus, even betting companies that don’t have rights to stream the games on their platforms may have some added features such as commentaries or live updates on the game, for people to keep track more easily.
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