Cricket is an Underperforming Potential Goldmine
A YouGov survey has revealed that cricket is underperforming as a betting sport and highlighted real potential for growth if the bookmakers can convince the sport’s followers to place a flutter.
The survey showed that cricket is the second most popular sport when it comes to actually following the game, with a third of online sports betters saying they watch cricket regularly. In terms of viewing audience, then, England’s national sport is doing well. When it comes to betting? Not so much.
The sport is languishing in sixth position in the bettering charts with just 11% of online sports betters and 7% of offline gamblers claiming to have placed a bet on cricket. Compared to the 75% of online gamblers that bet on football, 58% that have laid money on horse racing, 16% on golf, 14% on boxing and 13% on tennis, it’s clear to see that cricket can improve as a betting sport.
Perhaps unsurprisingly most of the people that bet on cricket are men, aged 35+. Just 11% of those that gamble on cricket are women, and it really isn’t performing with the female or younger crowd. When it comes to online gambling especially, that’s a real handicap. Horse racing leads the way when it comes to female involvement in the online betting world, with 27% with women placing 19% of the bets on tennis, 18% of the football bets and 17% of the Rugby Union flutters.
The good news is that cricket tends to draw big bets. 25% of the people that do bet on cricket tend to place more than £100 a month on wagers, while just 11% of football and 11% of horse racing betters put that kind of money down.
Sky Bet rules the roost when it comes to cricket betting, thanks largely to that fact that Sky Sports has held exclusive broadcast rights to cricket in the UK since 2006. 52% of the surveyed betters that bet on cricket had placed a wager with Sky Bet, but 46% placed bets with Bet365 and 40% with William Hill. Considering the money Sky Sports has invested, this could be construed as a moral victory for the competition.
The numbers make for interesting reading, but the inevitable conclusion from this in-depth survey is that cricket is a potential goldmine that simply isn’t reaching its full potential as a betting sport. England’s national game, then, is ripe for disruption, especially in the online betting world. And if one of the online sportsbooks can find a way to turn eyeballs on the sport into bets, then there’s a lot of money to come from cricket in the near future.
