Multinational finance firm Deloitte believes that the crypto industry is set to take sporting to a new level of innovation, beyond collectables as it’s currently seeing.
As it stands, sporting has involvement in the cryptocurrency and blockchain scene with non-fungible tokens (NFT) collectables across different sports and events. Some players in sports like the NBA and NHL are being paid in cryptocurrency and other teams are accepting crypto for season tickets and merchandise. In a report, Deloitte commented on the potential of the industry, noting that there is still a large untapped market in the sporting industry that cryptocurrency can open in to.
“Cryptocurrency has been playing at the margins of the sports business for a few years now. We’ve seen players paid in crypto, and some teams in the MLB, NBA, and NHL are accepting it for season tickets and other merchandise.”
Looking at current and future trends in the sports industry, Deloitte’s 2022 look on the sports industry explores how and where blockchain can take the industry and crypto could lead the industry into new markets:
“With the rising use and involvement of cryptocurrency and associated exchange platforms, a nexus will form around sports collectibles, ticketing, betting, and gaming. We are just beginning to see its potential, as well as the new markets it could lead to… We could see fractional ownership of season tickets and suites and a reinvention of the ticket resale process. This activity could increase the use of dynamic ticket pricing and portions of ticket resales going back to teams or leagues, creating a new revenue source.”
Additonally, the cross-border payments opportunity within the crypto space could open up the sporting market to a wider global audience.
Deloitte noted that this innovative future might take some time to achieve and unlock the potential, owing to a need for standard regulation and legislation bith from an industry point and the financial legal approach. This would entail customer education, consumer protection, and tax and compliance regulation.
