Bookmakers set to cash in on ‘one of the best weekends of sport’

There is set to be a spike in wagered stakes across the betting industry, as a quartet of major sporting events hit UK screens on the weekend. 

With the Wimbledon finals, Cricket World Cup Final, Newmarket Festival and Formula 1’s British Grand Prix (GP) all underway between Saturday and Sunday, bookmakers are estimating betting stakes to reach around £100m.

Harry Aitkenhead from Coral looked forward to the weekend’s events: “It’s going to be one of the best weekends of sport the UK has ever hosted and that’s bound to be reflected in the amount of bets placed and total stakes wagered across the industry,” he said. “Punters will be looking towards England at Lords, Lewis Hamilton round Silverstone and Frankie Dettori aboard Advertise at Newmarket to pay for their weekends.”

It was bound to be a big betting weekend regardless, however, the addition of England at the Cricket World Cup Final has understandably generated more excitement within the betting community. 

Aitkenhead added: “The Cricket World Cup has been a fantastic event with betting turnover much greater than expected despite some bad weather scuppering the group stage. England getting to the final is only going to intensify the interest, especially given the fantastic news that Channel Four will be showing it.” 

Alex Apati of Ladbrokes reiterated the weekend’s potential: “Punters are sinking their teeth into a whole host of sporting action in the absence of football and we’re expecting around £100m to be staked this weekend alone.”

As is touched on above, the cricket final will now be broadcast on free to air television after Sky announced a team up with Channel 4 earlier in the week. 

Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon commented on the partnership: “This is fantastic news for cricket fans and the nation. The big winners of this strong partnership between Channel 4 and Sky are sports fans and viewers who want to come together for these big sporting occasions.”

It was also announced that the British GP will join the cricket on Channel 4 and receive free to air coverage, again increasing potential viewership and wagered stakes. 

Aitkenhead weighed into the debate surrounding who the weekend’s results will end up favouring, stating: “We’ll wait for the dust to settle on Monday morning to see whether results suit punters or bookmakers but whatever happens it’s going to be a real celebration of sport in the British summer and potentially a weekend to remember for years and years to come.”