'Big Bash League' Betting - Breaking New Ground In Betting Stakes

The updated list of top international gaming companies will be well aware of a tournament going on half way round the globe that has all the hallmarks of breaking last year's records. It is the Australian Twenty20 Cricket Tournament and this year's 'Big Bash League' betting is currently breaking new ground and reaching new heights.

Going by figures already calculated by the gaming big boys, the tournament which has now reached its midway point looks set to hit a new landmark, as 'Big Bash League' betting looks to be on course to smash last year's $2.2 billion, over the duration of the five week contest.

Cricket Australia Keen To Head-Off Match-Fixing Concerns

Cricket Australia has held unprecedented breakthrough discussions with unregulated bookmakers in its race to head off any potential match-fixing claims as it seems more and more likely bets could exceed the $3 billion mark.

Behind the scenes, the game's national cricket body backed by the AFP, Australia's Federal Police along with the Victorian Sports Integrity Intelligence Unit, have held their first discussions with numerous offshore betting operators that are considered to be major players in collecting online bets during the 5 week period the tournament runs.

Sources that are close to Cricket Australia claim they have held talks with Philippine based SBOBET along with the Caribbean-based Pinnacle Sports, to facilitate a better understanding of wager levels and those that may be suspicious, in an effort to stamp out any concerns of corruption or match fixing.

SBOBET are an unregulated betting exchange and they along with similar entities such as Citibet and AAStar, are though to currently turnover $2 billion a week with a large slice of that coming in from Australian punters. Whilst these offshore companies remain outside the jurisdiction of Australian law, the governing Cricket body is hopeful that by opening up dialogue with the operators, they have a better chance to protect the integrity of this booming shortened form game of Cricket.

There is also the financial incentive side of things to be considered as there is a huge amount of revenue being lost from product fee arrangements. They currently have no ability to share in the foreign bookies gains, which are all part and parcel of their overall earnings, and out of arms reach.

Tabcorb who remain the largest betting operator in Australia claim that 'Big Bash League' betting is up more than 20% so far this year whilst it's close competitor, the Irish owned giant Paddy Power's Sportsbet said that individual bets this year have doubled compared to last year.

A Sportsbet spokesperson said that they had seen a 50% increase in the amount of match wagers so far over the summer and that they were basically receiving as much interest on BBL games as one would see on an average normal season game in the NRL. A source further added that if current momentum continues at the same rate that overall betting on the BBL is likely to hit or surpass the $3 billion mark, by season's end on January 24.