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 finish line.

But this promotion code thrill of the ride is something that numerous consumers who bet in shops or online do not experience.

Bookmaker William Hill is eager to recreate it with virtual reality technology.

The UK's Gambling Commission stated that it would be keeping track of innovations such as virtual truth to ensure that they did not encourage extreme betting.

Using virtual reality headsets, integrated with GPS racetrack data, it is giving consumers the possibility to view the race from the jockey's viewpoint.

"Currently you put a bet and very little happens in between that and the result," said Crispin Nieboer, William Hill's director of innovation.

"We desire to bring clients closer to the sporting action, to experience the excitement of the ride."

To check the possibilities, the group at William Hill labs constructed a 3D mock-up of Kempton Park racecourse and gathered live information, by means of GPS trackers fitted on horses, throughout a training race at the course.

Combining the data produced a virtual race users can view via either Google Cardboard or an Oculus Rift.

The innovation is not yet offered to the public however was on program at an open day at the firm's technology lab in Shoreditch.

Users first choose the horse they desire to race on. Accompanied by live commentary, wearers can turn and look at other horses as well as triggering an information screen about the horse's heart rate, stride and race position.

William Hill prepares to add more courses and live races next year.

"Currently there are some gaps in the information so the horses all of a sudden accelerate in a live race, however we intend to have a proof-of-concept system ready by Christmas," stated Mr Nieboer.

The strategy is to introduce the service as part of the William Hill app.

"Users can select the alternative to see the race as a standard video or they can be the jockey," Mr Nieboer said.

It might also be offered in some wagering shops, said Mr Nieboer, while Google Cardboard headsets were most likely to be offered totally free at racecourses.

It is approximated that in the UK about 350,000 people have a gaming dependency, with over ₤ 7bn spent yearly.

the yohaig code expansion of online betting has actually been blamed for making it easier to bet and some feel services such as virtual truth could contribute to the problem.

the yohaig code marketplace is managed by the UK Gambling Commission, which said that it "monitors innovation in the gambling market in order to make sure operators continue to adhere to the conditions of their licences".

"Operators are required to ensure that they provide betting in an accountable way, which will consist of offering tools to enable consumers to manage their gaming activity along with having policies and treatments in place to identify potentially troublesome behaviour and interact with customers who show that behaviour," a spokesperson included.

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