[SoftTalker]

Is it really that big a deal if you are watching a few minutes behind?

I've watched ball games on streaming networks where I can also hear a local radio broadcast, and the stream is always delayed compared to the radio, sometimes by quite a lot. But you'd never know it if you were just watching the stream.

[notatoad]

>Is it really that big a deal if you are watching a few minutes behind?

i don't bet on sports. but from friends who do: yes, it's a really really big deal.

[throwaway2037]

I have seen this type of comment a few times here. Why does it matter to a bettor if the stream is delayed by 1-5 mins? How would they even know?

[brokenmachine]

I remember a few years ago reading about a scam at the Australian Open Tennis where there were people inside the stadium who were betting on individual points as they happened.

I guess they could bet before the betting streams caught up.

It seems ridiculous to me that you can bet on individual points, but here we are.

[ilaksh]

The issue is that most people are trying to watch live which is what it's advertised as. And until they figure out that they need to watch X minutes behind, it is unwatchable. Many will not figure that out.

So for the first hour it was just total frustration until I stopped trying to go back to live mode.

[defrost]

Potentially more so in this brave new world of increased sports betting.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sting

Offshore combined streaming and betting houses will be cleaning up the rubes.

[SoftTalker]

Internet streams are not real-time even in the best case. There is always a few seconds of delay, often quite a bit more than that depending on number of hops and link speeds, congestion, etc.

[JCharante]

well it's live sports, watching live is the big deal. Also people are gambling on the outcomes so watching a few minutes behind is a big deal