Something quite unprecedented is happening in the world right now. A virus is sweeping the globe and it has forced people into quarantine, stopped the occurrence of live entertainment events and claimed the lives of thousands of people in the process. Sports events have also suffered, with all major events being postponed or cancelled entirely, and this has naturally had a knock-on effect where sports betting is concerned.
Without any sporting events occurring, sports bettors have been left without anything to really place wagers on. Some have turned to online casinos, although this doesn’t hold the same appeal as sports betting for others. So, how does one get by with sports betting without the sports?
Well, one option to take is to place bets on eSports instead. These have risen in popularity lately, thanks to them not requiring large gatherings of people to happen. Basically, bettors place wagers on competitive video gaming, and these events are found at a large number of online sportsbooks. You can even find them through the William Hill mobile app, which is free to download to your smartphone or tablet. You can then log in to your account in the normal way and sports betting, casino gaming and more will be readily accessible to you from it.
Other alternatives include betting on less-intriguing things, such as what kind of language Donald Trump will use in his next press conference or who you think will win an Oscar next year. Alas, these don’t provide as much entertainment as placing bets on football or hockey does, for example.
Bookmakers Try To Turn Things Around With Inventive Betting Options
It’s only understandable that bookies would suffer from the lack of bets being placed. After all, it’s all fine and well having people registered at your platform, but unless they’re actively participating in sports betting, there won’t be any sort of income. And unless sports are taking place, those people won’t be betting. It’s for this reason that many of the online sportsbooks have been pushing players towards their online casinos or poker rooms, in the hope that extra revenue will come from those sectors.
Yet, despite COVID-19 having forced the cancellation of many major sporting events, it hasn’t stopped all sports from happening. For example, a set of secondary soccer league matches have been taking place in some countries. Belarusian soccer and the Nicaraguan Premier League are playing as normal, which has led to some online bookmakers incorporating bets on these events into their sites. That’s not something that would really have ever been focused on before the threat of coronavirus.
Other sportsbooks have, for the first time, started taking bets on Japanese sumo wrestling events, which are also still taking place. Heavy action was also seen on the Australian rules football, although that was eventually suspended by the COVID-19 outbreak.
And if you have more of an interest in politics, then you can place bets at some sites on whether or not the US presidential election will actually take place on November 3 this year due to the virus. For that, Trump somehow remains the favourite to win. Meanwhile, other bookies are offering odds on he first character to die in television series or the first to have an affair!
