William Hill bets on virtual reality racing

1 October 2015

Anyone who has actually been to a racecourse will understand the enjoyment when the horses pound towards the surface line.
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But this promotion code excitement of the ride is something that 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 stated that it would be monitoring innovations such as virtual reality to guarantee that they did not encourage extreme gambling.
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Using virtual truth headsets, integrated with GPS racetrack information, it is providing consumers the opportunity to view the race from the jockey's point of view.

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

"We wish to bring consumers closer to the sporting action, to experience the thrill of the trip."

To test the possibilities, the group at William Hill laboratories constructed a 3D mock-up of Kempton Park racecourse and gathered live data, through GPS trackers fitted on horses, throughout a training race at the course.

Combining the data produced a virtual race users can see by means of either Google Cardboard or an Oculus Rift.
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The technology is not yet available to the public however was on show at an open day at the firm's technology lab in Shoreditch.

Users first pick the horse they wish to race on. Accompanied by live commentary, wearers can turn and look at other horses in addition to triggering an information 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 unexpectedly speed up in a live race, however we wish to have a proof-of-concept system ready by Christmas," said Mr Nieboer.

The plan is to release the service as part of the William Hill app.
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"Users can choose the choice to watch the race as a standard video or they can be the jockey," Mr Nieboer said.

It might also be offered in some wagering stores, stated Mr Nieboer, while Google Cardboard headsets were most likely to be provided free at racecourses.
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It is estimated that in the UK about 350,000 individuals have a gambling dependency, with over ₤ 7bn invested each year.

The expansion of online wagering has actually been blamed for making it much easier to gamble and some feel services such as virtual reality might include to the problem.
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The market is regulated by the UK Gambling Commission, which stated that it "displays development in the betting market in order to guarantee operators continue to comply with the conditions of their licences".

"Operators are required to guarantee that they bet9ja's welcome offer gambling in an accountable way, which will include offering tools to permit customers to handle their gambling activity as well as having policies and procedures in location to recognize potentially problematic behaviour and interact with clients who exhibit that behaviour," a representative added.

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