Have you ever wondered why cricket has become so popular? Is it just a love for the sport? Is it the fact that the United States is hosting a cricket cup and this is boosting the viewership numbers? Although these reasons are in themselves quite valid, there is another reason, too – betting. Cricket betting has evolved from a single-cell organism in the pond of obscure betting markets to a multi-cell organism that is eating its way through the evolutionary food chain. Although you can find free live roulette pretty much anywhere you look, cricket betting tends to be a bit of a special thing like that.
Cricket betting has indeed gone from mostly an activity that you engaged in at a private bookmaker to a betting market that is supported by the world’s leading betting exchanges and online sportsbooks. What has caused this sudden upshot in popularity? Well, there are many reasons to speak of to be perfectly honest, and they all matter.
1. Cricket as a Valid Sport
Cricket – competitively or otherwise – is not uppermost in the minds of people in the Western Hemisphere. Even though the UK more or less created the sport – and India is now its new and uncontested home – cricket has had to rebuild its popularity in most places to the West. Well, the good news is that it succeeded and it is taking off. Here are some of the major milestones cricket as a sports has achieved:
- Cultivating a global audience
- Breaking into new places
- Running exciting competitions
Expectedly, there are some growing pains. The mass popularity of cricket in places such as the United States is still not super-pronounced. This means that fans may have to wait a few more years before cricket begins to elbow others out of the mainstream, but the overall viewership in cricket worldwide is already exceeding that of many sports. The question for cricket leagues is how to get Europe and North America roped in – huge markets with a lot of money to spend.
The safest way to do this is to prove that cricket is a skilled sport where your understanding of the game will determine the outcome, which is what we want and expect from a sport.
2. The Pandemic – An Opportunity
This may sound like something that wouldn’t come up first, but cricket, like golf, can be played in a rather solitary manner. This is why when the 2020 pandemic hit, many cricket tournaments were discontinued. But more competition continued to emerge, nevertheless. Bookmakers – starved from the main sports leagues, such as the NCAAF, NCAAB, NFL, NBA, and so on – had to get creative, and creative they got.
Many sportsbooks started featuring cricket religiously, creating the opportunity to bet on known and marginal markets and leagues and having an immediate bearing on the sport’s popularity. Thanks to this early adoption, many sportsbooks that operate primarily online decided that they would not miss the chance any longer and have cricket featured as a serious part of the experience. Yes, cricket is a valid sport and it will definitely help you.
3. Global Betting and How It Shaped Cricket
Now, you may be wondering why cricket is such as fixture in global sports betting platforms. The simple reason is – it creates value. For sports fans and bookmakers alike, cricket tournaments are some of the most serious and intriguing they can get their hands on.
The sport has a really well-developed ecosystem which means that you will get plenty of worthwhile action. There are many pros which means that players are going to play at an exceptional level to begin with which will in turn interfere with any nefarious attempts to manipulate the game.
Vigilance over match-fixing is giving online and global sportsbooks a reason to feature cricket more heavily and they have, pushing the popularity of the game and making it one of the most bet-on sports globally. It is bound to continue being so.
