The gaming and betting industry is growing at an unprecedented rate thanks to the legalization of sports betting across several U.S. states. With rapid expansion comes significant challenges, especially in terms of technology.
That’s where companies like Presidio are stepping in. By supporting the industry with innovative app development and cloud-based solutions, the explosive growth we’ve experienced can continue.
Taking a closer look at the new landscape of sports betting, Allec Brust sat down with Presidio experts, Jay Donovan, National Client Executive of Betting and Gaming, and Roger Sherwood, Practicing Director for TMEGS.
The Rise of Gaming and Betting: A Market in Flux
Gaming and betting are now dominant forces in the entertainment industry, evolving alongside both expanding consumer demands and sweeping regulatory changes.
“Betting and gaming is one of the fastest growing industries in North America. A combination of increased user demand and increased legalization across individual US states has led to a naturally growing market, something that’s really hard to replicate, and we don’t see in a lot of other industries,” says Jay. “When you add those two things together, you get a group of companies that are defining what the new frontier looks like in an environment where user activity and engagement is, by nature, pretty inconsistent.”
The industry is experiencing explosive growth, with major operators reporting 100% year-over-year revenue increases. As more states legalize sports betting, market opportunities continue to expand. However, this rapid growth also requires a level of technical agility that many companies struggle to maintain on their own.
This presents a new challenge: how do you build a scalable, efficient, and reliable infrastructure that can handle millions of transactions per second during peak events, like The Big Game?
Scaling for Peak Events: How Presidio Helps Betting Operators Stay Online
A unique but pressing dilemma for this sector is handling peak traffic without incurring unnecessary costs during off-seasons.
The second weekend in February sees transactions per second skyrocket into the millions, but those numbers aren’t sustainable year-round. Operators are tasked with balancing seamless performance with sustainable cloud consumption costs.
The solution lies in automation.
“Netflix famously has one of the most scalable infrastructures for B2C content delivery on the planet,” says Jay. “And they would be the first to tell you the key is automation. That’s true for sports book operators as well because if you’re reliant on people being in front of their computers, engineers, site reliability engineers, infrastructure engineers, manually turning up additional clusters or turning up additional compute capacity to serve additional customers or additional current streams, you will never be able to scale fast enough to accommodate a spike.”
At Presidio, we help companies optimize their cloud infrastructure by offering solutions such as:
- Dynamic Cloud Scaling: Ensuring platforms can handle peak traffic while reducing costs during off-seasons.
- Real-Time Optimization: Providing predictive analytics and automated adjustments to maintain performance.
- Resilience Engineering: Conducting stress tests to identify weaknesses and ensure zero downtime.
By leveraging cloud solutions, betting operators can balance the need for high availability with cost efficiency.
Geofencing: Ensuring Compliance and Security
Unlike media streaming services, gaming and betting applications must comply with state-by-state regulations. Due to the legal restrictions of the Wire Act, users in one state cannot place bets via servers in another, making precise geofencing a necessity.
Presidio helps betting companies manage geolocation compliance through:
- Accurate Geofencing: Preventing users from placing bets outside of legal jurisdictions.
- Fraud Prevention Measures: Detecting VPN usage and other tactics used to bypass location restrictions.
- State-Specific Infrastructure: Ensuring each state has its own dedicated environment to meet legal requirements.
This technological challenge requires a robust, cloud-native approach to ensure compliance without disrupting user experience.
California and Texas: The Next Frontier
With the two most populous U.S. states (California and Texas) still in the process of legalizing sports betting, the industry is bracing for another massive expansion.
Once these states approve legislation, operators will have a short window to launch their platforms and capture market share.
For companies looking to enter these markets, Presidio provides:
- Infrastructure Readiness: Deploying scalable environments ahead of legalization.
- Rapid Deployment Teams: Ensuring that applications can go live the moment regulations allow.
- Seamless User Experience: Helping operators create smooth, engaging platforms to attract and retain customers.
The race to be first in new markets is critical, and having the right technical partner can make all the difference.
Presidio’s Role in Betting and Gaming Innovation
Presidio’s entry into the gaming and betting industry started with its PRISM solution, which offers cloud cost optimization without long-term commitments. By allowing a spin-up and spin-down approach, this was the perfect fit for sports betting companies.
After building relationships with major operators, it became clear that additional technical challenges needed to be addressed—such as infrastructure modernization, re-platforming, and application development.
One standout example is Presidio’s partnership with DraftKings. The partnership aimed to move DraftKings’ mobile app from Xamarin to native Swift and Kotlin, improving performance and reducing latency by up to 70%. As valuable as the change would be, the lift was too large to handle seamlessly if done internally.
With Presidio’s team of 56 experienced engineers, the project was completed in just nine months. This proved to be an impressive feat that highlighted Presidio’s ability to execute large-scale transformations quickly.
What’s Next? The Future of Gaming and Betting Technology
Looking ahead in 2025 and beyond, gaming and betting companies are focusing on innovation in:
- Automated Scaling: Reducing reliance on manual infrastructure adjustments.
- Chaos Engineering: Increasing platform resilience through continuous stress testing.
- Enhanced User Engagement: Integrating new media and content to drive customer retention.
As the lines between gaming, betting, and entertainment continue to blur, companies must prioritize agility, scalability, and security to remain competitive. With its deep expertise in cloud infrastructure and application development, Presidio is positioned as a key partner in the evolution of this industry.
Gaming and betting are no longer just niche markets. Today, they are mainstream industries with massive revenue potential. As companies navigate the challenges of rapid growth, seasonal demand fluctuations, and regulatory hurdles, technology will be the defining factor in their success.
Presidio’s commitment to innovation ensures that betting operators can scale effectively, reduce costs, and maintain peak performance during the most critical events of the year.
As the industry continues to expand, expect to see more technological advancements that enhance both operational efficiency and user experience.
Interested in learning more? Listen to Allec’s full discussion with Jay and Roger on Episode 46 of The Digital Decode. Tune in on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your favorite podcast player.
