English Premier League
The English Premier League (EPL) is the world’s most popular league in terms of betting volume on the Asian Handicap. Only the UEFA Champions League comes close in terms of volumes of bets placed, although a top level game such as Arsenal vs Manchester United or Chelsea vs Liverpool will generate more betting volume than even the top Champions League game.
Millions of dollars are bet throughout Asia on every Premiership match. The appeal of Asian Handicap betting is that it is low margin – usually around 101.4% – but the high volume of bets allows bookies to make good profits. Asian handicap betting – sometimes called hang cheng in south east Asia – is attractive to bettors because it eliminates the three way (home win/draw/away win) betting that is common throughout Europe. Instead one team is given a handicap advantage, similar to the way that the point spread is used in American sports to even up two teams of uneven ability.
Asian Handicap bookmakers have become so large that they now sponsor Premiership clubs – SBOBet are now the official sponsors of West Ham.
The English Premiership is considered to be one of the most clean in the world and has been relatively unaffected by the betting scandals that have tarnished some other European leagues. However there is no room for complacency in the league and there have definitely been suggestions that some matches have been influenced by betting syndicates. So far there has been no successful prosecution of anyone for trying to fix a Premiership match.
In recent seasons the Premiership has been dominated by the so-called Big Four clubs – Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. They have maintained a tight hold on the top four positions in the league which allow clubs to qualify for the following season’s Champions League.
Old BetUK User? Visit betinternet.com.
Compare dozens of bookmakers.
Bet365 is offering up to £200
Totesport is offering up to £60
Paddy Power is offering £20 free!