Betting on Cricket
Originally from England, Cricket is now popular in over 100 countries. How 100 other countries understood the rules is still anyone’s guess, but we digress…
Most of Cricket’s fanatics (and bettors) live in England, Australia, India, and Pakistan. As you can guess, cricket betting is intense – almost as intense as the games. Interestingly, cricket betting is more rampant in India and Pakistan where it’s illegal. England and Australia have relaxed rules toward betting on cricket matches, yet cricket betting is a pale shadow to its Asian neighbors. (We blame taxes!) However, like most sports, all countries where it’s legal deny betting to anyone with direct involvement in the game. That’s a reasonable restriction and helps protect the integrity of the game. Do you want your star player, betting several thousand against their team? Err, no.
Like in most cases where sport betting is illegal or undefined, bookies and online gambling sites step up to the plate ready to take anyone’s cricket bet. For bookies in India, the rewards on illegal bets are great and the risk is relatively low. Pay a small fine (usually gained from taking bets) and you’re on your way out of the jail. Legalization is currently being discussed in India, but it’s still a far way off. Pakistan currently has little hope to legalizing cricket bets due to the religious beliefs of its citizens.
Regardless of how you bet on cricket, the format is pretty simple. Cricket betting odds are usually given in fractional odds (sometimes known as British odds). For example, the cricket match between India and England might have 4/1 odds for an India win. This means you win $100 for every $25 wagered. On the other hand, England’s odds might be 1/4 to give you $25 for every $100 wagered. This usually happens when a team is favored to win. Moneylines are offered as well. In these cases, odds are given in positive and negative currency amounts. For example, a money line of -$250 for England means you must wager $250 to win $100. That would happen if they’re the favored. An underdog would have a positive money line like +$300. This gives you $300 on a winning $100 bet.
As expected, the winning team of the match is the most common bet. The Ashes, World Cup and even the local beach cricket game are full of spectators betting on the winning team. However, there are numerous other cricket bets as well. Bet on who’ll win the toss, the match outcome (predicting the points), the top scorer, or even the Man (or Woman) of the Match.
Whatever your bet, may you win and you have a fun time at the match. Good luck!
