Betting gets a promising wicket

Fastest Growing Sector In Cricket Economy; Rs10-15k Cr At Stake

TALK of cricket and immediately endorsements, telecast rights, TV shows, advertisements and publishing involving billions of dollars come to mind. But these are just some shades of the greenbacks. Betting, which perhaps falls in the shade of grey, captures the lion’s share of the cricket economy. Put simply, even by conservative estimates, betting accounts for more than 30 to 35% of the money involved in cricket. Surprised? Now get ready for the sixer — this segment is now considered the fastest growing in the cricket economy and it’s estimated that more than Rs 10,000-15,000 cr will be at stake in the domestic satta den during the world cup. In the international market, the figure might cross even Rs 15,000 cr. With the tournament underway, bookmakers and punters across the globe are heavily betting on Australia as the favourite to lift the Cup. They are at the top of the chart with odds of 2:1, closely followed by South Africa with 4:1. In fact, Sri Lanka and West Indies also enjoy the confidence of the bookies, sharing the third position at 8:1. But if you want to make real money, then bet on India and England as the returns are very high on them at 10:1. In fact, both are holding fort jointly in the betting sweepstakes with England as the fifth favourite country to lift the Cup. So how does the odds work on the betting table. Simply put, if the odds are 1:2, it means for every 100 you bet, you get back 120. According to a top Delhi-based bookie, the turnover of betting on cricket alone last week was around Rs 800 cr to Rs 1,000 cr and starting March 13, it is expected to cross Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 cr every week. ”The initial odds of Australia may be very minimal but nothing is certain in this game and even they can lose. If they lose their first two matches, then the odds may move up drastically. With host West Indies and Pakistan playing the match today, millions of rupees would have changed hands with the delivery of each ball. Every wicket, every run prompts change in odds,” he said. Among individual players, Australian captain Ricky Ponting is the favourite followed by Sri Lanka’s former captain Sanath Jayasuriya and South African skipper Graeme Smith.

Courtesy: EconomicTimes
For more detail on Retail India visit: http://www.retailindia.tv