William Hill bets on virtual truth 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 thrill of the ride is something that numerous consumers who wager in stores or online do not experience.

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

the yohaig code UK's Gambling Commission said that it would be keeping track of developments such as virtual truth to make sure that they did not encourage extreme gambling.

Using virtual truth headsets, integrated with GPS racetrack information, it is giving clients the opportunity to view the race from the jockey's perspective.

"Currently you position a bet and very little occurs in between that and the result," stated Crispin Nieboer, William Hill's director of development.

"We wish to bring clients closer to the sporting action, to experience the thrill of the ride."

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

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

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

Users initially select the horse they wish to race on. Accompanied by live commentary, wearers can turn and look at other horses along with triggering a data display screen 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 gaps in the data so the horses suddenly accelerate in a live race, but we want 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 pick the option to enjoy the race as a basic video or they can be the jockey," Mr Nieboer said.

It could also be readily available in some betting stores, said Mr Nieboer, while Google Cardboard headsets were likely to be provided out totally free at racecourses.

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

The proliferation of online betting has actually been blamed for making it easier to bet and some feel services such as virtual reality might contribute to the problem.

The marketplace is managed by the UK Gambling Commission, which stated that it "monitors innovation in the gaming market in order to make sure operators continue to abide by the conditions of their licences".

"Operators are required to ensure that they use gambling in an accountable way, which will consist of offering tools to enable clients to manage their gambling activity along with having policies and treatments in location to recognize possibly bothersome behaviour and interact with customers who display that behaviour," a spokesman added.

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