William Hill Bets On Virtual Reality Racing

William Hill bets on virtual truth racing

1 October 2015

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

But this promotion code excitement of the ride is something that lots of customers who wager 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 developments such as virtual reality to guarantee that they did not motivate extreme gaming.

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Using virtual reality headsets, integrated with GPS racetrack information, it is offering customers the possibility to see the race from the jockey's perspective.

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

"We want to bring customers closer to the sporting action, to experience the excitement of the ride."

To test the possibilities, the team at William Hill laboratories built a 3D mock-up of Kempton Park racecourse and collected live information, via GPS trackers fitted on horses, during a training race at the course.

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Combining the information created a virtual race users can see through either Google Cardboard or an Oculus Rift.

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

Users first choose the horse they desire to race on. Accompanied by live commentary, wearers can turn and take a look at other horses along with triggering a data display about the horse's heart rate, stride and race position.

William Hill plans to include more courses and live races next year.

"Currently there are some gaps in the information so the horses all of a sudden speed up in a live race, but we hope to have a proof-of-concept system all set by Christmas," stated Mr Nieboer.

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

"Users can choose the option 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 totally free at racecourses.

It is estimated that in the UK about 350,000 people have a gaming addiction, with over ₤ 7bn invested yearly.

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

The marketplace is regulated by the UK Gambling Commission, which stated that it "screens innovation in the gambling market in order to ensure operators continue to adhere to the conditions of their licences".

"Operators are required to make sure that they bet9ja's welcome offer betting in a responsible way, which will include offering tools to allow customers to manage their gambling activity along with having policies and procedures in location to identify potentially troublesome behaviour and interact with clients who exhibit that behaviour," a representative added.

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