Weekend Review: World Cup qualifiers fail to galvanise punters
Operators edge low-scoring England affair, while Wales and Scotland's struggles provide small wins in quieter weekend for layers
Both Scotland and Wales failing to win their respective World Cup qualifiers, and England struggling for goals against Malta, ensured small wins for the bookies in what proved to be a quiet weekend of sporting action.
Following last weekend’s “super Sunday” for the layers, the international break predictably saw bookmakers reporting lower turnover.
William Hill’s Joe Crilly said there was “little interest” in England’s qualifier against Malta at Wembley due to their short price, while turnover was “much lower” compared to Sam Allardyce’s first game in charge.
“On Saturday we were saved by Scotland’s home draw with Lithuania so we had a decent day,” said Crilly, adding the firm suffered a “losing day” on Sunday despite Wales failing to overcome Georgia.
However, Unibet said it reported “good turnover” for Gareth Southgate’s first game in charge and topped that of the Slovakia game, adding it made “good margin” with punters expecting England to score more than they managed on Saturday.
And the 2-0 score line was a positive one for both Ladbrokes and Betfred. “Most people were on England to win 4-0, so the low scoring affair was a good result for us,” said Betfred’s Peter Spencer.
BetVictor downplayed its winning weekend with both Wales and Scotland failing to win as “more a cup of tea than a bottle of champagne”.
Sky Bet described the international results as “relatively kind”, but with England priced at 1/50 it failed to encourage punters to part with their money.
For Betway, the football results came close to undoing the damage of punter-friendly horseracing results over the weekend.
“Saturday’s racing at Newmarket was full of well fancied winners â so once again the punters got their heads in front on the racing,” Betway’s Alan Alger said.
Betfred added it saw increasing numbers on people taking punts on horseracing over the weekend, while Wigan Warriors’ Super League Grand Final victory over Warrington Wolves ensured a modestly winning weekend for the firm.
Elsewhere, Unibet said it saw good turnover for ATP Shanghai Masters and WTA China Open, with Brits Andy Murray and Johanna Konta reaching the finals.