Media Alert: Online Bookies Finish 2018/19 Season on a High with Champions League Betting Boom

31 May 2019, LONDON :The 2018/19 European football season will come to a close this weekend with Liverpool going head to head with Spurs for the European title. Online bookies can expect to see high volumes of bets as punters try to win big ahead of the summer break. Operators could see an 18 per cent increase in bets placed versus a normal weekend.

Analysis by Worldpay has revealed that pre-match betting peaks two minutes before kick off with online bookies taking 6000 bets per minute on the game. Online operators should also be prepared for an increase in live betting with analysis from last years’ match showing a peak just before the start of half time when 4000 bets a minute were placed.

Steffan Jones, VP for Gaming EMEA at Worldpay commented, “The Champions League final is a marquee event for online bookies. This year’s all England affair could see even more gains for UK operators as sports fans take part in some friendly North vs South rivalry.

“Our analysis indicates that the Champions League attracts more casual punters looking to place a social bet. Whilst the volume of bets made on the game soars, average wagers remain low at £33. Mobile is likely to be the channel of choice with the volume of in play bets also peaking.

It’s imperative for operators to ensure that the mobile journey is easy to navigate for these more social bettors. Making sure that both deposits and payouts are seamless and platforms are well equipped to cope with spikes in traffic during key moments of the match will make the difference between casual punters remaining loyal or looking elsewhere when they next fancy a flutter.”

About the data
Figures quoted taken from analysis of global eCommerce transaction data for Worldpay’s regulated gaming customers in the UK processed on 26 May 2018, which included more than 150 of the biggest names in the regulated gaming industry.

About Worldpay
Worldpay, Inc. (NYSE: WP; LSE: WPY) is a leading payments technology company with unique capability to power global Omni-commerce. With an integrated technology platform, Worldpay offers a comprehensive suite of products and services, delivered globally through a single provider. Worldpay processes over 40 billion transactions annually, supporting more than 300 payment types across 146 countries and 126 currencies. The company is focused on expanding into high-growth markets and customer segments, including global eCommerce, integrated payments and B2B. Visit us at www.worldpay.com

For more information, please contact:
Siobhan Derrington : Siobhan.Derrington@worldpay.com – +44 (0) 203 664 4822
Rebecca Mansfield : rmansfield@golin.com – +44 (0) 207 067 0855