William Hill Bets On Virtual Reality Racing
William Hill bets on virtual reality racing
1 October 2015
Anyone who has actually been to a racecourse will know the enjoyment when the horses pound towards the goal.
But this adventure of the trip is something that many consumers who bet in shops or online do not experience.
Bookmaker William Hill is keen to recreate it with virtual reality innovation.
The UK's Gambling Commission stated that it would be monitoring innovations such as virtual reality to ensure that they did not encourage extreme gambling.
Using virtual truth headsets, integrated with GPS racetrack information, it is giving customers the opportunity to view the race from the jockey's viewpoint.
"Currently you position a bet and very little happens in between that and the outcome," said Crispin Nieboer, William Hill's director of innovation.
"We desire to bring consumers closer to the sporting action, to experience the excitement of the ride."
To check the possibilities, the team at William Hill laboratories built a 3D mock-up of Kempton Park racecourse and gathered live information, by means of GPS trackers fitted on horses, throughout a training race at the course.
Combining the information created a virtual race users can view by means of either Google Cardboard or an Oculus Rift.
The technology is not yet offered to the public however was on show at an open day at the firm's innovation lab in Shoreditch.
Users initially select the horse they want to race on. Accompanied by live commentary, wearers can turn and take a look at other horses along with activating an information display about the horse's heart rate, stride and race position.
William Hill plans to add more courses and live races next year.
William Hill bets on virtual reality racing
1 October 2015
Anyone who has actually been to a racecourse will know the enjoyment when the horses pound towards the goal.
But this adventure of the trip is something that many consumers who bet in shops or online do not experience.
Bookmaker William Hill is keen to recreate it with virtual reality innovation.
The UK's Gambling Commission stated that it would be monitoring innovations such as virtual reality to ensure that they did not encourage extreme gambling.
Using virtual truth headsets, integrated with GPS racetrack information, it is giving customers the opportunity to view the race from the jockey's viewpoint.
"Currently you position a bet and very little happens in between that and the outcome," said Crispin Nieboer, William Hill's director of innovation.
"We desire to bring consumers closer to the sporting action, to experience the excitement of the ride."
To check the possibilities, the team at William Hill laboratories built a 3D mock-up of Kempton Park racecourse and gathered live information, by means of GPS trackers fitted on horses, throughout a training race at the course.
Combining the information created a virtual race users can view by means of either Google Cardboard or an Oculus Rift.
The technology is not yet offered to the public however was on show at an open day at the firm's innovation lab in Shoreditch.
Users initially select the horse they want to race on. Accompanied by live commentary, wearers can turn and take a look at other horses along with activating an information display about the horse's heart rate, stride and race position.
William Hill plans to add more courses and live races next year.