Betting industry loses as Australia win Cricket World Cup
Mumbai | Australia defeated India to win the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, yielding a windfall for punters who had wagered against the host country’s unbeaten streak until the final.
In Australia, Sportsbet was offering 2.9 times the amount for an Australia win as of Friday – more than twice the payout for an India win at 1.4 times. Betfair, based in the UK, offered 3 times for Australia versus 1.49 for India. Sportsbet and Betfair did not reply to emails seeking comment; except for horse racing, sports betting is prohibited in most Indian states.
Australia’s players celebrate with the trophy after Australia won the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup final in Ahmedabad. AP
The final match was played in front of an almost capacity crowd at the world’s biggest stadium, including Bollywood stars, India’s billionaire Ambani family, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Home Minister Amit Shah, whose son runs the Board of Control for Cricket in India. It lured a record viewership of at least 57 million on Disney Hotstar, although the numbers began to drop as the game turned decisively in favour of Australia.
“The odds of India winning are higher, and they’ve been a favourite this entire tournament,” Anish Badshah, Seattle-based founder of BETTR Edge, a betting market analysis provider, had said before the final. “But the match is between two of the best teams.”
The clash was held in front of 130,000 spectators in the Ahmedabad stadium named after Mr Modi, in his home state Gujarat. A win would have added to a year of important milestones for the leader before elections next year, after Delhi held the Group of 20 nations summit in September and India achieved a moon landing.
“A sporting win certainly gives some credibility to a
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