The UK Gambling Commission came to a very important conclusion recently, courtsiding neither cheating, nor does it offer an unfair advantage to the punters who employ it.
Courtsiding, if you didn’t know already, is method for increasing your chances of winning in-play wagers by actually attending the event you’re wagering on. (Though some, quite savvy, gamblers employ minions to relay information from sporting events they can’t personally attend.)
The practice of courtsiding has recently come under fire because some punters claim it gives an unfair advantage to the gamblers make it part of their overall wagering strategy.
Their argument is that a courtsider with a high-speed internet connection could, theoretically, have an edge over players who are watching the game on television with its several second broadcast delay.
A slew of recent complaints about the practice prompted the UK Gambling Commission to look into the matter. After some heavy research, which was published in the form of a research study, the Commission came to a remarkably unsurprising conclusion, courtsiding does not confer an advantage to in-play punters:
We do not consider it necessary to prevent some bettors using technology to gain an advantage, for example, from computer software programs or faster online connectivity speeds, provided it is made clear to all bettors that this is possible.
There is limited evidence to show that the risks are greater than those associated with pre-event betting.
UK bookmakers have a vested interest in keeping the in-play sports betting market on as level a playing field as possible. As of this writing, the in-play market accounts for as much as 60% of the action at most of the big UK online bookmakers.