Strategic move
Technology giant Apple has made another strategic move into the US sports betting market in the same month it launched its gambling-friendly AR headset.
Apple CEO Tim Cook took to X Wednesday to push the new Apple Sports iPhone app launched to coincide with the start of the 2024 Major League Soccer season:
According to a news release, the free Apple Sports app will provide sports fans with team stats, lineup details, real time scores, and play-by-play information across multiple leagues.
The iPhone maker’s app will also feature live betting odds, which gives users access to the moneyline, total, and spread for matchups across ten professional sports leagues.
Fast, simple, primitive?
Apple Sports is available for download via the App Store in the US, Canada, and the United Kingdom, with its maker stating it was “designed for speed and simplicity.”
In a news release, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Services Eddy Cue stated his company conceived Apple Sports to meet sports fans’ need for an “app that delivers incredibly fast access to scores and stats.”
Apple’s app looks comparatively primitive.”
While Apple is touting speed and simplicity, it has entered an app market already saturated with live scores and stats. A Bloomberg opinion column even expressed a view that compared to rival apps like ESPN, “Apple’s app looks comparatively primitive.”
Apple Sports’ other downside, at least for now, is the limited pro sports leagues and competitions it offers. The app offers seven soccer leagues including the MLS, the English Premier League, Spain’s LaLiga, Italy’s Serie A, Germany’s Bundesliga, France’s Ligue 1, and Mexico’s Liga MX. It also features the NBA, NHL, and NCAA. Additional leagues — MLB, NFL, NCAAF, NWSL, and WNBA — will be “available on Apple Sports over time.”
Soccer enthusiasts will be quick to notice the dearth of top cup competitions on the app, such as the UEFA Champions League and the English FA Cup, or international games from the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying tournament.
Another bite
Regardless of whether sports fans take to the app, it’s another bite out of lucrative sports betting markets for Apple.
On February 2, the company launched its Apple Vision Pro augmented reality headset to the delight of online gambling fans. In a VegasSlotsOnline News opinion column, we highlighted how the “device blurs the lines between AR and VR so gamblers can get the best of both worlds.”
The headset reportedly had 200,000 pre-orders in the US, with Statista suggesting Apple could ship around 350,000 units in launch year one, rising to nearly 1.5 million in year two. It remains to be seen if the brand’s gamble on Apple Sports pays off as handsomely.