The FIFA Club World Cup final was Midnite’s second most-popular betting event ever, the UK challenger operator’s head of sportsbook has revealed.
Speaking to EGR, Ben Cullen said the final between Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday 13 July emerged as one of the top games in the firm’s history.
Chelsea won the inaugural tournament after trouncing Paris Saint-Germain 3-0, with goals from Cole Palmer and João Pedro doing the damage.
In terms of betting volumes, the game was only behind the Champions League final between Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan in May.
Cullen remarked: “It should be noted that we’re growing so fast, that big events are setting records for us all the time. I’m sure another event coming up in the next few months will break this record again.
“Interestingly, the final saw 2.5 times more handle than the Wimbledon final between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. Maybe people were out enjoying the afternoon sun. But, that said, we did see about five times more [money wagered] on the Club World Cup final than we did for England versus Wales at the Women’s Euros.”
The sportsbook head noted that the French side were heavily backed heading into the final, meaning Midnite came out on top.
He said: “The final was a big winner for us and, I imagine, the rest of the industry too, with PSG heavily favoured and punters also expected a comeback in play, which never materialised.”
Looking with a wider lens, Cullen said the 32-team tournament had “exceeded expectations” and emerged as the firm’s fifth-largest football competition of the year.
In fact, it leapfrogged Europa League, the Championship and the FA Cup, despite a seemingly lack of significant interest from fans and no major broadcaster airing the games in the UK.
DAZN had offered the tournament for free, while Channel 5 penned a sublicensing deal with the streaming giant to show around half of the games from the US.
“Tennis is our third most-popular sport after football and horseracing but the Club World Cup was about three times more popular than Wimbledon and more than double the popularity of Royal Ascot,” Cullen added.
Theorising on the reasons behind the success of the tournament, Cullen said a lack of other football action saw punters drawn to bet.
He also noted Europe-friendly kick-off times had helped engagement. The final was held in New Jersey, which is five hours behind the UK.
Cullen explained: “Prime time for our audience is the 7pm to 9pm kick-off range. Anything in the early hours of the morning obviously had a reduced audience.
“Some of the group games were at 2am UK time and they got less action but, as the tournament progressed, the kick-offs were increasingly in that prime time period. All of our top turnover events were around the 8pm kick-offs.
“The popularity was obviously helped by the timing of the tournament. It’s a fairly quiet time in terms of football this month, so the action was concentrated around the Club World Cup. I’d say it saved the summer for bookies.”
Elsewhere, Kambi has reported that more than 80% of all bets on the Club World Cup within its operator network came from Latam.
Brazilian side Fluminense got to the semi-final where they lost to Chelsea, while the London side had dispatched fellow Brazilian outfit Palmeiras in the quarter-finals.
Simon Noy, Kambi senior-vice president of trading, said: “This summer showed that when you combine strong brands with a relevant, engaging betting experience, the results can be exceptional – and Latin America proved that in emphatic fashion.”
The post Midnite head of sportsbook says Club World Cup “saved the summer for bookies” first appeared on EGR Intel.
Ben Cullen lifts the lid on the operator’s performance for EGR, revealing how the final between Chelsea and PSG took more than 2.5 times the volume of bets compared to the Wimbledon final
The post Midnite head of sportsbook says Club World Cup “saved the summer for bookies” first appeared on EGR Intel.