Last updated on : July 9th, 2024 by R Yadav

For such a long time, we relied on the man, woman, men, women, in the middle to make the right decisions in sports events. Referees in football would require the sharpish vision and nerves of steel to make a call between a clean or illegal tackle. Tennis umpires and those that called the lines would have the final say on whether a shot was a millimetre over the line of just clipping it. In cricket, deciding whether the ball pitched in line or not would be the difference between the batsman walking back to the changing room, or living to fight another day and add more runs to his or her tally. There was once a sporting age without technology.

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Ramping up the emotion in sports

But as technology advanced, and visionaries within all sports developed a way to implement it in everyday matches or events, the landscape of decision making in sport completely changed. The ability to reverse a decision had major impacts on anyone involved, whether playing, spectating, analysing, or betting. In football, fans and players alike now have the opportunity to celebrate a goal twice due to the introduction of VAR. The same in cricket if a decision for a possible wicket is referred to the third umpire. Suspense, second waves of joy or despair are an everyday aspect of sports nowadays and this is certainly felt by individuals betting on sports events at home, live at the event, or on the move.

“Bet suspended”
If you have money riding on an outcome, particular goalscorer, wicket-taker or tournament winner, there will be added drama to any event you are following, especially if you are not actually watching the event live. In the past, outcomes used to be black and white; either a batsman or woman in cricket was out or not, or a player would definitely receive a yellow card in football. In the case of football, the introduction of VAR (video assistant referee) in the 2019/20 season allowed referees to get a second opinion on a decision that was deemed a clear and obvious error. For yellow cards, if a particular tackle was deemed too dangerous, the referee on the pitch has the opportunity to ‘upgrade’ the yellow card to a red card.

On betting markets for cards that you can find here, you would get the dreaded message “Bet Suspended”, or however it is phrased or indicated on a specific platform. In the added time it takes for video referees to make a decision, it is crucial for sports betting companies to ‘freeze’ the action, so that the right decisions can be processed on bets placed. What ensues in the moments after the final verdict is delivered is either ecstasy or disappointment.

Cricketers are no different to any other athletes that have to endure a tense wait for a decision to be made. The DRS (decision review system), which sent decisions reviewed by a team’s captain to the television umpire was brought into the game in 2008, albeit with some controversy. In a match between India and Sri Lanka in Colombo, Tillakaratne Dilshan sent a decision of out upstairs, and successfully overturned it.

Anyone of an Indian persuasion betting in their team’s favour would have despaired at this review. At the time, snick-o-meter was not used in the DRS, but it indicated that Dilshan had indeed edged the ball behind. Since that episode, technology in sport has been refined and is nearly flawless in making correct decisions. For sports betting enthusiasts, the activity itself does not change. But brace yourself for more suspense.

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