How popular is the World Cup in Asia - is it on a level playing field with the Premier League as a product?


Te World Cup is going to be huge in Asia. You just need to look at the Premier League viewing figures and the share of the audience that Asia accounts for to see just how popular football is across the entire continent. But I do have a word of warning. Te time difference between Qatar and some Asian countries will undoubtedly impact betting activity.


Te earlier games will provide plenty of chances for Asian bettors to wager and enjoy the thrill of in-play betting, but some of the later matches will take place in the early hours of the morning and only the most dedicated fans and bettors will tune in and wager live. Tis could see a surge in pre-match bets. Of course, South Korean and Japanese fans will most likely be up regardless of what time their matches are taking place.


Fans and bettors from Asian countries that did not qualify for the World Cup will still have a vested interest in the action taking place. Many follow the big teams from the English Premier League, La Liga, the Bundesliga, etc and will also have favourite players. Many of these players will be playing for their national teams during the World Cup and this will provide plenty of betting opportunities.


Champion Sports has a significant presence in Asia. A fiercely competitive market, how tight will prices and margins be for the tournament?


It is going to be incredibly competitive when it comes to prices and margins. I think we are going to see some local operators down to 101 per cent, so holding a one per cent margin on game day. At the time of speaking, we are still a few weeks out from teams being finalised, so markets are still quite wide. Some of the bigger operators such as bet365 are currently running at between around 106-108 per cent with a handful of Asian operators even higher than that.


But as it gets closer to game day, margins will drop drastically. In most Asian countries, typically it is game day when the best markets are offered with the highest limits, and this will certainly be the case during the World Cup. At Champion Sports, we are pricing markets for many of our partners at around 104 per cent and expect that to drop to around 103-102 per cent just before the first game kicks off.


It's not just prices and margins that will be competitive – operators must ensure they offer a wide range of bet types. Asian bettors tend to favour fast markets and instant action. Tis includes Asian handicaps and odds-on goals scored over/under, corners, red cards, yellow cards, etc. Tis is a little different to other global markets where players often like to wager on both teams to score markets, individual goal scorers, etc.


Another quirk of the Asian market is that players are often impressed by bookmakers that offer many markets – for a lot of Asian agents, there is a perception that the more markets you have the more credible you must


WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS P35


Simon Noble Sportsbook Product Director Champion Sports


“The earlier games will provide plenty of chances for Asian


bettors to wager and enjoy the thrill of in-play betting, but some of the later matches will take place in the early hours of the morning and only the most dedicated fans and bettors will tune in and wager live. This could see a surge in pre-


match bets. Of course, South


Korean and Japanese fans will most likely be up regardless of what time their matches are taking place.”


“It's not just prices and margins that will be


competitive – operators must ensure they offer a wide range of bet types. Asian bettors


tend to favour fast markets and instant action. This includes Asian handicaps and odds-on goals scored


over/under, corners, red cards, yellow cards, etc. This is a little different to other global


markets where players often


like to wager on both teams to score markets, individual goal scorers, etc.”


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