Best bookmaker for Indian Premier League betting
It’s the world’s biggest T20 cricket league, with players from England, Australia and the West Indies heading to India to take part. It’s the place to be for players and an exciting spectacle for fans.
As one of the most popular global sports, cricket has hundreds of millions of supporters across the globe. So it’s no surprise to see that many bookmakers in the UK offer odds on the action.
We collected and compared odds from more than two dozen different firms to find out which was the best bookmaker for Indian Premier League.
For this comparison, we researched what was available with the following bookmakers:
We analysed their offerings using the following games: Rajasthan Royals vs. Hyderabad Sunrisers, Chennai Super Kings vs. Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders vs. Delhi Capitals.
We compared the bookies across a range of different markets, comparing their odds for match winner, runs in the 1st overs, the highest number of sixes in the match and the total number of betting markets offered.
All data were collected in the UK between 21 and 23 October for matches played between 22 and 24 October.
Overall best bookmaker for IPL cricket betting
We looked at lots of factors in determining the best bookmaker for IPL, not just the odds. Many of the bookmakers impressed, but three really stood out from the rest.
- Mr Green
- Unibet
- 888Sport
Mr Green impressed for its sheer consistency across the board. It took the joint lowest commission for the 1st over total runs market at 5.36% and finished in the top five for all of the other markets. The site’s highest commission was in the market for the most match sixes at 9.01%, but only four bookmakers took lower rates.
In second place was Unibet. It was equal with Mr Green on commission for the 1st over total runs market and also impressed us in other areas. What separated Unibet from the rest was the consistency of its commission rates and the number of markets it offered. Unibet provided odds on an average of 57 different markets across the three matches.
The final bookmaker in our top three was 888Sport. It also offered highly competitive commission rates across the board. 888Sport came joint top of the rankings for the lowest commission for the 1st over total runs market, with the same commission as the top two sites. It narrowly beat bet365 (in fourth place overall) by having better commission rates in the other categories. 888Sport took 5.43% from the outright winner odds, compared with bet365’s rate of 5.52%.
Best betting markets selection
It’s not just about the site with the best IPL betting odds, bettors also want a wide selection of markets to bet on. These three sites offered the most IPL betting markets:
Betway offered the widest selection of markets by far, with 128 markets. It may not have had the best IPL match betting odds, but its variety would likely have meant it attracted many bets as no two punters are the same and they each have their own preferences.
Mr Green’s variety was one of the reasons it became the number one overall best bookmaker for Indian Premier League betting. It offered odds on 80 different markets, far more than the majority of other bookmakers.
The average number of markets offered by the bookmakers we examined was 42. BetVictor finished in third place after providing odds on 76 different markets, far beyond that figure. It was also well clear of the fourth best site in this category, Sky Bet.
Best to win match odds
By far the most popular bet on cricket is on the outcome of the match. We compared the commission rates across the three games to find the site with the best IPL match odds. These were our top three sites in this market:
BoyleSports took an average commission of just 4.79% from match outright winner markets. The operator had the best IPL cricket match odds across the three matches and was the clear winner in this category.
However, Paddy Power wasn’t far behind. It took a commission of 4.96%, which was significantly better than the operator in third and far better than the average across operators of 6.46%.
Marathonbet finished in third in this particular category. Its commission of 5.23% was enough to put it ahead of William Hill and Sportingbet in joint fourth place, with commission rates of 5.34%.
Best total match sixes odds
One of the more unique popular markets in IPL betting is a wager on the side that will hit the most sixes in the match. The majority of sites offered odds on this market, with some allowing punters to bet on a draw as well. These were our top three sites for total match sixes odds:
It was a tie for first place as Coral and Ladbrokes took the same level of commission from this market at 7.42%, well below the site in third place.
Third-placed Marathonbet, with commission of 8.65%, was only just in front of GentingBet in fourth at 8.70%. The top three sites in the overall bookmaker standing for IPL betting all finished in joint fifth, with a commission of 9.01%. The average commission rate for the market was 10.78%.
Best 1st over total runs odds
One of the quickest ways to get a return from cricket betting is to wager on the first over. This is a highly competitive market for bookmakers. These were the top three odds providers for 1st over total runs:
The top three sites here were the same as the top three overall. Mr Green, Unibet and 888Sport all took the same commission from the 1st over total runs market and therefore shared top spot here.
They were all just clear of Betfred in fourth, which took a commission of 5.42% in this competitive category. The average for this category across the 25 bookmakers was 6.87%.
Conclusion
As well as our top three, a couple of other operators deserve a mention. Coral and Ladbrokes finished in fourth and fifth place overall in the overall best bookmaker category. BoyleSports also warrants recognition as it had the overall best IPL match odds commission, with a rate of just 4.32% for the Chennai Super Kings vs. Mumbai Indians match. And in terms of variety, Betway offered an outstanding selection of markets at 128.
The IPL is the most popular T20 league in the world, and from our research it’s clear that bookmakers are keeping up with the demand to place bets on it.
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