Mixed reality could soon be a widespread actuality in sports betting, with Kindred Futures – the innovation arm of the Kindred Group that includes 32Red, StanJames.com and Unibet under its umbrella – announcing a pioneering exploration with Zappar.

Kindred

Prototypes have been built that use MR in high-profile sporting matches, including the 2017 Champions League final and T20 cricket between South Africa and England.

The idea is to better understand how MR innovations will change the way customers interact with sporting data. As it stands, viewers have to wait on the whims of broadcasters or trawl through lengthy tables to access data on which to make sporting decisions.

A demo showed Zappar giving users control in an immersive experience, allowing them to explore in depth a team’s players or gain insight into goals, shots or runs scored with the help of data supplied by Opta.

A kickstarter venture, Zappar’s ZapBox was launched last year and allowed users to engage with MR using their smartphones for a cost of USD30.

Will Mace, head of Kindred Futures, said: “We have always been committed to seeking out the most interesting and innovative companies to explore the future of gambling.

“This exploration with Zappar allows punters to discover and interact with data like never before, leveraging Opta data to provide insights that can help them make more informed decisions.”

Jeremy Yates of Zappar said: “The main barrier of getting mixed reality to the mass market is the cost of new hardware. There’s an exciting future of data visualisation, with mixed reality providing an immersive and engaging way to both view and interact with information. This exploration is all part of our goal of democratising this technology.”