As soon as Tim Cook unveiled the Apple Watch, people began to speculate about how the wearable device might be useful for sports and horse race betting. Many wondered whether Apple would even allow gambling apps for their watch. It turns out that a number of internet bookies have been racing to develop the first Apple Watch iOS sports betting application. While Unibet, Ladbrokes and Coral will soon be releasing their own software, William Hill have beaten everyone to the punch by offering the world's first iOS-ready Apple Watch bookmaker update across over 100 countries on launch day. Here's what we know so far.... WILLIAM HILL APPLE WATCH - WWW.WILLIAMHILL.COM WH customers will be able to place bets directly from the watch with just a couple of taps. The app will be available worldwide (except the US). If you can currently place a bet with William Hill using your phone, you will also be able to use their iWatch app. This includes the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and Canada to name just a few. A list of the days "Top Bets" will also be displayed along with summaries on the watch that wearers can browse through with just a swipe of a finger. Live odds for football and horse racing can also be displayed on your Apple Watch display. The next few months will be interesting as other big mobile players like PaddyPower and Bet365 join the race to become the leading Apple Watch sportsbook.
i've read both unibet and ladbrokes have now gone live with their apple-watch bookmaker apps. which one is best?
I'm sure the software will evolve rapidly over the coming months so it's probably a little too early to declare a winner right now. What I will say is that the Unibet Apple Watch app currently only provides information on upcoming sports and horse races and doesn't yet let you gamble directly via the iWatch. Instead you can view live scores and get match commentary on lots of different sports, including football, tennis, rugby, basketball, golf and boxing. Horse racing fans can also view form guides and race cards for upcoming races via the Unibet Apple Watch interface. On the other hand, the Coral Apple Watch software is more sophisticated, offering advanced features like the ability to close your bet early by selecting the cash-out button on your watch. With Coral for Apple Watch you can wager, check the status of current bets, view the latest promotions and browse through details of upcoming races and matches.
If you would like to see screenshots of the William Hill Apple Watch software you just need to visit their iTunes page. You can see the screen grabs underneath the images of the main iPhone app https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/william-hill-live-sports-betting/id465712788?mt=8 I like how you can configure the app to display "All Sports", "Football Only" or "Horse Racing Only".
why is the ladbrokes apple watch app only available in australia while the william hill and coral ones are available everywhere?
It is a little peculiar. I suspect that Ladbrokes Australia operates as a separate company so it will be up to Ladbrokes International to customise the betting app for the UK and other European markets.
Apple announced that Apple Watch OS2 will support video. Being able to watch a horse race or short videos of goals would be a great extra feature for sports fans.
when will the apple watch support native apps? i'd like to buy an apple watch but since i use a samsung galaxy there is no point since you need an iphone to run the apps.
Native apps for the Apple Watch will be available later this year once watchOS2 is released. At the moment all Apple Watch apps run off of the iPhone and communicate with the watch via bluetooth. I think this eats the battery life of the Apple Watch so I'm looking forward to native sports betting apps appearing for the wearable device.
Not at the moment. William Hill Australia use a completely separate iPhone and Android app for their Australian player base. The Australian William Hill app does not currently support Apple Watch.
Coral have removed Apple Watch sports betting from their iOS app so now only William Hill and Ladbrokes Australia offer bookmaker support on the Apple Watch.
You can find some articles on Apple Watch sports betting in our blog http://www.iphonebettingapps.com/articles/category/apple-watch-sports-betting