An insight into the types of people who bet on sport for a living, and just how much it has grown in popularity in the recent years.
As we said earlier, many people are feeling the effects of a turbulent sports betting market in the last couple of years.
With regulation in a state of flux, a lot of betting firms lost millions of dollars as people seemed to be gambling more.
Until recently, sports betting accounted for around 25% of bookmakers’ revenue, but it is now declining to around 20% of the pie, and much of this is due to the heavy regulation of the industry.
More recently however, the value of a bet is down. This means people are not putting up as much, or as little, of their hard earned money on sport.
As well as this, the amount wagered on a single game has gone down – with people believing that football matches are being overrated by bookies.
Biggest Bet on Sport
As you might have guessed by now, the Super Bowl is the most popular sports event for gambling.
The Super Bowl LII held in 2018 saw 61 million people putting their money on the Eagles to defeat the New England Patriots, although it didn’t go exactly as expected.
Even so, the estimated betting turnover was £2.3billion – a £125million decrease on last year.
The main reason for this decline is the prolonged excitement about the Eagles making the win in 2018 – from the pre-season speculation, to when they made it to the Super Bowl, to the victory, and the fact that most people had wagered on the New England Patriots in 2018.
Losing Money and Being Left in Debt
As you might be aware, when you wager money on a sport, you should follow the rules laid down by the bookmaker.
But if you lose, and the bookmaker keeps your money, you are bound by these rules to give the bookmaker their money.
Many people who bet on sport will lose their hard-earned money, even when they are following the rules laid down by the bookmakers.
Some people have been left in debt after betting on sport, and have no option but to give the bookmaker their money.
One woman who lost her family’s savings when she lost a substantial amount of her bet on football, and another man who lost £6,000 in a single betting session in just a few minutes on the Challenge Cup Final in 2002.
Casinos
The casino game is the most popular one among betting addicts, as it is the simplest form of gambling, and one that people know little about.
In comparison, the sportsbook game is a little more complicated as there are lots of rules that have to be followed, and if you’re not paying attention to the outcome, you could lose thousands of pounds on the game.
One man who lost over £50,000 at a casino in the last 18 months said: ‘I started going to casino as it was fun. I would come home from work and play my money off.
‘One year I went to a casino for more than 10 days straight. After the accident I couldn’t go back to gambling, it was just too much money. It took me six months before I could go to the casino.
‘I did it for two years. The first day I went to the casino for 4 hours, I cashed out £1,000.