Mayweather-Pacquiao: Bookmakers report record number of stakes
Tuesday 5 May 2015 18:29, UK
Online bookmakers Sky Bet took an average of 18 bets per second ahead of the opening bell as the ‘Fight of the Century’ became one of the most popular sporting events in its 13-year history.
With the Grand National traditionally the biggest staking event of the year for bookmakers, Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao gave the National Hunt horse race a run for its money.
Excluding past Nationals, the Las Vegas showdown is now the highest staking event Sky Bet have ever offered odds on.
It attracted over double the amount of bets placed on Carl Froch’s re-match with George Groves at Wembley Stadium last year, which was previously Sky Bet’s most popular boxing event.
The figures also exceed the 2015 US Masters – including four days of in-play odds at Augusta – while the 2014 World Cup final and 2015 Gold Cup were also soundly out-performed in terms of stakes.
With the majority of Sky Bet’s customers opting to back underdog Pacquiao, Mayweather’s unanimous decision win was the perfect result for bookmakers.
The support for Pacquiao was aided by Sky Bet offering the best price available on the Filipino, with punters drawn to the possibility of an upset at the MGM Grand.
Sky Bet spokesman Dale Tempest said: “This event has proved a massive success for our Price Boost policy, as we set our stalls out early on this result.
“We remained at a standout top industry price of 9/4 on a Pacquiao win for the duration of the build up to the fight and the total stakes on the boost alone were astronomical.”
