Punters and bookies find a net gain in unlikely quarters

Starved of sport during the coronavirus pandemic, bookmakers and punters have turned their attention to the football backwaters of Nicaragua and Belarus -- and they have proved an education for clients.

Sport in Europe has been particularly badly affected with the bookies' two major sources of revenue -- major football leagues and horse racing -- suspended.

However, punters have taken to betting on such unlikely fare as Diriangen against Walter Ferretti in the Nicaraguan championship.

As one bookmaker put it, some may "giggle" at the thought but for others it has been a godsend.

Keith O'Loughlin, a senior figure at SG Digital which supplies sportsbook platforms and trading services to operators, says he has been encouraged by the figures he has seen across the globe.

"We have seen customers transferring in droves to alternative products," O'Loughlin said on a videoconference at the Sports Betting Community digital conference last week.

"We have customers in each region - Asia Pacific, Europe and the USA.

"Customers in AsiaPac hold 70 to 80 percent previous levels of turnover, customers in Europe 30 to 50 percent and the US anything from 15 to 45 percent."
"It hosts talk about table tennis and the Nicaragua and Belarus championships to help give information to the clients to follow new markets and programmes."
"With the rise of live betting round the world people want a quick hit."
- 'Ludicrous' -
William Woodhams, CEO of British operator Fitzdares, told AFP that while these niche markets had "made for some interesting press, in reality they haven't made up at all in the loss of mainstream sport."