Weekend Review: Australian and US horseracing garner interest amid coronavirus cancellations
Belarusian football was the biggest event outside of racing as Marathonbet unveils Disruption Specials
Layers and punters are continuing to wade into niche markets across the globe as coronavirus plays havoc with the conventional sporting calendar.
Marathonbet launched a ‘Disruption Specials’ online in light of the outbreak, which sees punters betting on markets well into the future, when sport resumes.
Marathonbet’s Sam Behar told EGR Intel it is “critical” for bookies to build out these markets in times of uncertainty.
Behar said: “There’s plenty to get involved with including Rishi Sunak to be the next Tory leader, Djokovic or Nadal to win the first ATP event on its return, and whether Messi or Ronaldo will score first when football gets back underway.”
Check out our disruption specials.
— Marathonbet (@marathonbet) March 30, 2020
He added: “It’s important that Marathonbet continues to offer a wide variety of markets during this time and it’s critical for bookmakers to think laterally to build these markets. We had to move quickly to build such an offering for our customers.”
Elsewhere, horseracing continues to run in Australia and America despite the sport being postponed in both the UK and Ireland.
Kindred Group’s Ali Gill told EGR Intel how international racing tends to give high margin results for the bookies having garnered the attention of punters.
Gill said: “Some good quality racing from Australia and America kept the punters going this weekend as the sporting calendar becomes ever more desolate. A high-class card at Rosehill in Australia was the highlight in terms of turnover, with Gulfstream Park in the US following a close second.
“As is often the case with international racing, both were high margin results for us, with Gulfstream Park in particular throwing up one or two very bookie-friendly results,” he added.
Betdaq’s Mark Harkin highlighted some of the weekend’s big winners and losers across international horseracing markets when speaking to EGR Intel.
Harkin said: “The biggest winner came at Los Alamitos in America where one customer won nearly £5,000 having staked £2,500 on Five Bar Jackpot to place at 2.95, while another won just over £4,000 having laid Up For Speed for a place at 1.2 at the same track.
“There were a couple of notable losers too, with one punter losing £3,500 having backed Duchess Of Sussex to win at Tampa Bay Downs at 3.2.”
? Несмотря на меньшинство, парни практически отыгрались. Невероятное дерби.#fcdm1927 #столичноеДерби pic.twitter.com/LR79mLJji6
— ФК Динамо Минск (@FC_Dinamo_Minsk) March 28, 2020
Belarus is the only European country where football is still being played despite the Covid-19 pandemic and, as a result, bookies have seen a wave of interest in the Belarusian Premier League.
This weekend played host to the Minsk derby between FC Minsk and Dinamo Minsk, which Gill noted as being Kindred’s biggest turnover event outside of racing.
Gill added: “The 3-2 goal fest to the home team meant that went the way of the punters. Outside of that match, we saw some great interest in this round of Belarusian Premier League, and all told the round definitely went to the layers as we saw some great margin across the board.”