IPL 2019 Triggers Biggest Ever Pre-Market Betting
The Indian Premier League season is just around the corner and there is a palpable excitement in the air. The fans, players, and bookies are awaiting the start of what promises to be the biggest and best season yet, and in anticipation of this launch, there are all kinds of promotions and bonuses available.
Bookmakers Preparing for the IPL
The IPL is on a meteoric rise right now and this is perhaps best evidenced by how the bookies react prior to the start of a season. They know more about the popularity of this league than anyone. They make it their business to know—that’s how they make their money after all—and their huge preparation for IPL 2019 suggests this league really is on the up.
The biggest players in the business have upped their game by significantly improving available betting markets and betting promotions. Betway is a great example of this. They are one of the biggest betting brands in the world and judging by their recent promotions they are focusing a lot of their attention on cricket and the IPL right now.
In years gone by Betway offered a bonus of INR 2,500 to new players, only to steadily increase this to INR 8,000 as they saw more potential in their Indian member base and the IPL in particular. Right now, just a couple weeks before the commencement of the 2019 season, Betway are offering a staggering INR 20,000 to all new members.
And this is not even the biggest bonus available. One of their biggest partners in India, OnlineCricketBetting.net, currently has an exclusive Betway bonus of INR 30,000 available to everyone who signups to the betting site using one of the links on their Betway review.
Betrally India, which caters exclusively for the Indian market, has followed in Betway’s footsteps and has moved from their traditional offering of INR 7,500 to a new bonus of INR 20,000. Keen to match Betway every step of the way, they have also increased the number of markets that they have available, and punters can now place bets on everything from the outright winners and last-place finishers, to the best batsmen and bowlers in specific games.
How Popular is Cricket Betting?
In India, cricket is the most popular sport to watch and by far the most popular to bet on, with kabaddi lagging behind in second. After that, you’ll find a number of non-Indian sports and leagues, many of which are soccer leagues and cups (the Champions League, Europa League, English Premier League, and World Cup are some of the most popular).
If you look at sports betting on the whole and exclude the North American market, where 99% of bets are placed on just four leagues (NFL, NHL, NBA and MLB) that aren’t that popular elsewhere, cricket is one of the 5 top sports to bet on. This popularity is helped greatly by support from punters in India and Bangladesh, but it also has a strong base of gamblers from England (other countries in the UK simply haven’t gotten behind it yet) South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.
It’s a long way behind soccer and eSports and is also below rugby, but it’s on par with sports like tennis and motor racing and it’s ahead of snooker, pool and handball.
In India, however, cricket betting is one of the fastest rising pastimes and judging by the aforementioned promotions, it’s fair to say that the bookmakers are finally taking notice of this hugely lucrative market. After all, there are around 50 million people of legal gambling age in the UK, which is considered to be one of the most lucrative gambling markets in the world (and also the second most lucrative for cricket gambling after Australia), but there are a billion potential legal gamblers in India.
That’s a staggering number and it’s no wonder that the big brands are fighting for their share. India could be the future home of sports betting and IPL could be at the epicenter.