Cryptocurrencies have already affected many different industries, including sports. Even though sports are an ancient and stable industry, one might need some help understanding the motivation for people in the sports industry to incorporate crypto in their processes. The answer is quite simple – mutual benefit. The moment cryptocurrencies have established themselves as trustworthy and modern, the sports industry decided to reach out and connect.
Sports betting and crypto
Online gambling sites in general have already massively started accepting crypto payments. It simply goes together. The main reason people like using cryptocurrencies while online gambling is that they do not wish to be followed or have their IDs checked at all. These people always opt for betting sites without verification, and what better match with those sites than the option to pay in cryptocurrencies which are also the symbol of anonymity in payments. This is where the best of both worlds are combined to make clients extremely happy. It is beneficial both for the betting sites and the cryptocurrencies that they allow.
Sponsorships
Another appropriate example of mutual benefit is sponsorship deals. This is the case where a cryptocurrency company decides to sponsor a certain sports player. The player benefits from the financial aid, while the company gets great advertising depending on how popular their sports person is. Of course, there are different types of sponsorships. For instance, it is more common for a company to sponsor a whole team or a specific event. This is also great marketing and the team or event participants still have financial gains from the whole deal. These sponsorships are particularly meaningful for cryptocurrencies that have not yet reached a high enough level of recognition. This is a great step for them as it will put them on the map and let the whole world, or at least the world of sports, learn about it.
Ticket sales
Another great example of a mutual connection between sports and crypto is the option to pay for tickets for sports events using cryptocurrencies. On one hand, everyone who is into sports events will learn about cryptocurrencies when they find out they exist as a payment option. On the other hand, the possibility of crypto payments opens a whole new world to the already existing group of crypto fans waiting to fall in love with sports, too. There are also ways to promote crypto payments to a new audience and that is reflected in smaller fees for people who pay in crypto. This is a nice incentive for newbies as it would lure them to try crypto payments, and once they do, they will be hooked.
Selling merchandise
The beauty of blockchain and decentralization in general allows for a lot of creativity. For instance, people love to keep certain mementos from important events. This is typical of concerts, trips, and sports events. This is why people in the sports industry started creating merch that is a limited edition exclusively to the people who came to visit a certain event. This way, a true fan would be able to have a whole collection of jerseys, figurines, or other mementoes that symbolize one particular game. Not only there is the option to pay for the merch using crypto, but the true beauty of cryptocurrencies and blockchain lies in the possibility that these mementos can also exist in digital form. Since some athletes decided to receive parts of their payment in cryptocurrencies, they can also participate in creating these non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and invest their money this way.