New Delhi: All eyes are set on the big game as India seeks to upset the Aussie applecart at the Twenty20 World Cup semifinal tonight.
But while the fans and the advertisers seem to love this format of the game, it's the bookies that aren't happy.
"The 50-50 cricket is tension free. One player comes in, another goes out. It’s a fast game and there is no time for us to negotiate deals or make adjustments,” a ‘bookie’ told CNN-IBN.
TWENTY20 HURTS BOOKIES
- Losses to the tune of Rs 200-300 crore rupees on Indo-Pak match
- Bets placed per match goes down to Rs 500-600 cr, compared to Rs 1000 cr per ODI.
- Sudden difference ranging from 30 paise to Re 1 over- to-over s leaving bookies with loss of Rs 250 cr per match.
Unlike a 50 over match, the speed with which the game turns around in Twenty 20 has left bookies struggling to predict the course of the game, and provide a betting price for the punters.
Bookmakers are finding it increasingly difficult to juggle the money in the market.
“When we bet on games, we have to pay money to a lot of people. But the Twenty20 thing leaves no space for negotiation. Punters are not interested in putting money on it,” adds the bookie.
Bookmakers suffered losses to the tune of Rs 200-300 crore on the India-Pakistan match, where all through Pakistan was the favourite. Only for the final bowl out to turn the market around.
The extent of bets placed every match has gone down to Rs 500-600 crore, compared to a minimum of Rs 1,000 crore per ODI.
And the sudden difference ranging from 30 paise to Rs 1 over- to-over is leaving bookies with a loss of roughly Rs 250 crore per match.
Out of patriotism the bookies say that the ‘Men in Blue’ have bucked up at the right time, but when it comes to money the bookmakers are playing it safe both nationally and internationally. For the final cup Australia continues to remain a favourite followed by New Zealand, Pakistan and then India.
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