SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
A full schedule of English Premier League football this Saturday gave bookmakers a severe battering as seven out of eight market favourites won their respective matches.
Bookmakers have detailed to SBC that they are still counting the cost of ‘EPL Game Week 6’ (23-25 September), as punters cashed-in on heavily backed favourites Tottenham, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United.
Adding salt to bookmakers’ wounds, crafty punters bet a number of accumulator bets on the weak line-up of EPL matches, with the ‘customer friendly’ results likely to cost the industry a multi-million £ pay-out.
On Monday night, there would be no relief for Bookmakers EPL woes, as a heavily backed Arsenal won comfortably against West Bromwich Albion.
Speaking to SBC Jessica Bridge Ladbrokes Head of PR commented on the weekend’s EPL action: “Saturday was a nightmare if truth be told, with all the well-backed favourites obliging and ‘Both Teams to Score’ markets copping it was very much a day that went in favour of punters. The two underdogs winning on Sunday helped soften the blow, but ultimately the damage had already been done.”
European betting group, Kindred Plc confirmed to SBC, that Saturday 23 September 2017 had made its ‘top 10 biggest losing days’.
“In the Premier League, the lack of any shocks meant barely a Kindred win in sight, Southampton v Man Utd being very comfortably our biggest hit. The trend continued abroad with our 8 of our 10 biggest global football turnover events all going the punters’ way,” stated Alistair Gill Sportsbook, Commercial Relations at Kindred Plc.
“Away from the football was not much improvement. Patriotic Brits backed the cricket team to beat the West Indies, the Tour Championship went heavily the punters’ way and Joseph Parker’s win over Hughie Fury in the boxing triggered a winning 12 fold, 6 figure win for one customer, just to add insult to injury.”
Now entering a crucial Autumn trading period, all bookies will be praying for ‘No Saturday 23 September repeat’. As an industry stakeholder, Team SBC would like to remind those winning punters that even bookmakers can be hurt too!
