Sports betting during Covid

The most popular term you will be hearing throughout 2020 and for many more years to come is definitely that of Covid-19. You hear it on the news, on the radio, and your peers talking about it. You read about it online, magazines, newspapers and politicians all over the world are talking about it. Covid-19 has indeed disrupted our livelihood especially with all the social distancing measures and having to undergo the lockdown. 

It would have been fine if I were subjected to the lockdown with my favourite entertainment broadcasted on television – Sports. I am sure many of you are like me as well. However, because of the need to adhere to the social distancing measures, various forms of sports were suspended during the lockdown period as well, making it unbearably boring. 

During that period of course, without any ongoing sports, sports betting took a hit as well since there was nothing to bet at all. 

However, as countries gradually ease their lockdown restrictions and social distancing measures, we are seeing a resumption of sports such as football. Despite that, audiences are not allowed during these matches. Therefore, players are playing in an empty stadium. The good news is that, betting for these sports are back online! 

Tips to note for online betting

As countries come out from the lockdown and in a bid to rejuvenate the economy, they are handing out really generous packages and financial support for businesses. This is all done so as to support the local businesses and to prevent them from collapsing since it will end up being more costly for the country in the longer run. On a similar vein for online betting sites without gamstop, there is a subtle difference in the payouts that have been offered. 

The whole purpose of this is to entice punters to start betting on sports again using their sites and to capitalise on the situation of sports probably being the only form of permissible social entertainment. Hence, there has never been a better time to commence your online sports betting journey, given the odds that are offered. 

Do note that I am not advocating for you to simply pour your money into bets that have high odds since usually that would also mean that the chances of winning is low. 

However, in the case of football, there is this interesting phenomenon that I discovered while placing my own bets. Usually betting on the away team winning in a match has a significantly much higher odds because of the home ground advantage theory. 

The general belief is that the home team, playing in their own turf, has a better chance of winning, and therefore for the other team to win is like expecting an underdog to win. However, with the entire Covid-19 situation right now, there is no home supporters in the stadium to distract or to jeer at the away team. 

Therefore, the only advantage that the home team has in a way is the grass that they are playing on. Nevertheless, there are rules on how the grass has to be and therefore, there is only so much advantage a home team can have when it comes to the pitch itself. The fans on the other hand are a significant advantage, since they are often being called the 12^th player of a team. 

Therefore, without the fans, the home team’s advantage is severely weakened. Given this and the higher odds for away teams, I see this as an opportunity to take these bets! 

Conclusion 

Covid-19 has brought significant disruptions to our lives since it is an unprecedented crisis. However, with every crisis comes an opportunity as well. What I have presented here may not exactly be that huge of an opportunity that you might have expected. However, that was never my intention. 

The whole idea was to simply present to you some of the interesting facts that I have found during my sports betting journey during Covid-19. 

In summary, the two points that I have covered are, firstly there is a subtle increase in the odds given by the online betting sites when it comes to sports betting, so as to draw customers again. Second, for football, there does not seem to be a significant home ground advantage as compared to the past.