William Hill bets on virtual reality racing

1 October 2015

Anyone who has been to a racecourse will know the enjoyment when the horses pound towards the surface line.

But this promotion code excitement of the trip is something that numerous customers who wager in shops or online do not experience.

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

The UK's Gambling Commission said that it would be monitoring developments such as virtual reality to make sure that they did not motivate excessive betting.

Using virtual truth headsets, integrated with GPS racetrack data, it is providing clients the chance to see the race from the jockey's perspective.

"Currently you place a bet and not much occurs between that and the outcome," stated Crispin Nieboer, William Hill's director of development.

"We want to bring consumers closer to the sporting action, to experience the adventure of the ride."

To test the possibilities, the yohaig code group at William Hill labs developed a 3D mock-up of Kempton Park racecourse and gathered live data, by means of GPS trackers fitted on horses, during a training race at the course.

Combining the data created a virtual race users can see by means of either Google Cardboard or an Oculus Rift.

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

Users first choose the horse they wish to race on. Accompanied by live commentary, wearers can turn and take a look at other horses in addition to activating a data display 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 spaces in the data 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," said Mr Nieboer.

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

"Users can pick the yohaig code alternative to view the race as a basic video or they can be the jockey," Mr Nieboer stated.

It could also be readily available in some wagering shops, stated Mr Nieboer, while Google Cardboard headsets were most likely to be provided free at racecourses.

It is estimated that in the UK about 350,000 individuals have a betting addiction, with over ₤ 7bn spent every year.

The proliferation of online wagering has been blamed for making it simpler to gamble and some feel services such as virtual reality could include to the issue.

The market is regulated by the UK Gambling Commission, which stated that it "displays development in the gaming market in order to guarantee operators continue to comply with the conditions of their licences".

"Operators are required to make sure that they bet9ja's welcome offer gambling in an accountable manner, which will consist of offering tools to permit clients to handle their gaming activity in addition to having policies and treatments in location to recognize potentially problematic behaviour and communicate with customers who exhibit that behaviour," a spokesperson included.

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