William Hill Bets On Virtual Reality Racing
William Hill bets on virtual truth racing
1 October 2015
Anyone who has actually been to a racecourse will understand the enjoyment when the horses pound towards the goal.
But this thrill of the trip is something that lots of clients who wager in stores or online do not experience.
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Bookmaker William Hill is eager to recreate it with virtual reality technology.
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The UK's Gambling Commission said that it would be monitoring developments such as virtual reality to guarantee that they did not motivate excessive gaming.
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Using virtual truth headsets, combined with GPS racetrack information, it is giving the possibility to see the yohaig code race from the jockey's viewpoint.
"Currently you position a bet and very little takes place in between that and the result," said Crispin Nieboer, William Hill's director of innovation.
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"We wish to bring customers closer to the sporting action, to experience the thrill of the trip."
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To check the possibilities, the team at William Hill laboratories constructed a 3D mock-up of Kempton Park racecourse and gathered live data, via GPS trackers fitted on horses, during a training race at the course.
Combining the information developed a virtual race users can view via either Google Cardboard or an Oculus Rift.
The technology is not yet readily available to the general public however was on program at an open day at the company's technology laboratory in Shoreditch.
Users first pick the horse they wish to race on. Accompanied by live commentary, wearers can turn and look at other horses along with triggering an information display about the horse's heart rate, stride and race position.
William Hill prepares to include more courses and live races next year.
"Currently there are some spaces in the information so the yohaig code horses all of a sudden speed up in a live race, however we want to have a proof-of-concept system all set by Christmas," said Mr Nieboer.
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The strategy is to introduce the service as part of the William Hill app.
"Users can pick the alternative to watch the race as a standard video or they can be the jockey," Mr Nieboer said.
It could also be available in some wagering shops, stated Mr Nieboer, while Google Cardboard headsets were most likely to be offered free at racecourses.
It is approximated that in the UK about 350,000 individuals have a gaming addiction, with over ₤ 7bn spent each year.
The expansion of online wagering has actually been blamed for making it easier to bet and some feel services such as virtual truth could contribute to the issue.
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The marketplace is managed by the UK Gambling Commission, which said that it "monitors development in the yohaig code gambling market in order to make sure operators continue to adhere to the conditions of their licences".
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"Operators are needed to ensure that they provide gambling in a responsible way, which will include offering tools to permit consumers to manage their betting activity as well as having policies and treatments in location to determine possibly problematic behaviour and interact with customers who show that behaviour," a spokesperson added.
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