Sports betting like we all know has contributed very well to reshaping the sports industry and increased engagements on sports activities.
It has increased viewership which comes not just from supporters watching matches for pleasure purposes but because most of them have financially invested in the outcome of the matches, players performance among others. <snip>
I think this is the other way around; sport betting is feeding off the popularity of various sports and trying to get more sport fans to bet on games.
No one starts to watch sports simply because they want to bet on it, but a fan can be interested in betting cause they already spend so much time on the sport and are emotionally invested.
This is the reason sport bookies spend millions to advertise during sport games and through other means directly or indirectly related to sports. That is where the attention is and they're trying to get a piece of it.