The English Premier League is the most-watch sports league in the world, broadcast all over the world to an estimated TV audience of around 4.7 billion people. Therefore it’s the perfect conduit for sports betting, an industry that’s estimated to be worth around £14 billion in the UK alone and nearly $1 trillion worldwide!
In this article we take a look at just how big Premier League betting is and what markets are the most popular for punters.
The impact of betting on the Premier League
9 of the 20 teams in the Premier League are sponsored by betting companies and nearly 60% of the 44 clubs in the top 2 divisions are also sponsored by gambling firms, with Sky Bet sponsoring the Championship, League One and League Two.
The tentacles of gambling can be seen everywhere in football, from the sponsors on the team shirts to advertising hoardings, radio and podcast campaigns and regular advertising on TV. In a BBC2 documentary on the impact of gambling in football, Victoria Derbyshire found that 95% of all televised matches in the UK feature betting adverts.
The most popular Premier League bets
Season-Long Punts: By far the most popular market in Premier League betting is the outright market. Who will win the Premier League? Who will finish top four? Which three teams will be sent back from whence they came?
This betting attracts all sorts’ punters, seasoned gamblers, casual bettors and fans blinded by loyalty. Every year hundreds of thousands of fans wager money on their side winning the Premier League, no matter their standing.
Famously that led to 24 Leicester fans scooping huge winnings in 2016 when their side won the Premier League title despite being 5000-1 outsiders before a ball was even kicked.
Accumulators: A Saturday accumulator is akin to buying a lottery ticket for a football fan. Heading into the bookmakers’ to place a five or six team accumulator before walking down to the game is like a weekly religion for most fans.
This market is perhaps one of the most profitable for the bookmakers’ as most punters tend to be quite outrageous with their bets, and the probability of predicting the outcome of multiple matches is relatively low.
Bet in-play: £150 million was spent by betting companies on TV advertising in 2016, and the majority of their campaigns are aimed at bet in-play customers. At half-time in a game, viewers will be shown the odds on the next goal-scorer, odds of a red card or the outcome of the game.
The money that the Premier League generates through gambling is testament to the competitions worldwide appeal to viewers and punters alike. The growth of the betting industry in the Premier League shows no signs of slowing down either, with more and more presence every season. However, the industry is coming under scrutiny from the government and perhaps a gentler approach from gambling companies would prolong their lucrative association with the Premier League.
