At this month’s Betting on Football Conference in London, Rory Anderson, a consultant at 12Bet, asked three leading authorities on the Chinese sports betting industry to assess the potential of the CSL in the context of the global sports betting market.
"I think we should take it seriously,” said Andre Rodrigues, CEO of Malta-based investment firm Goldblue. "It’s going to be a long time before we see a derby in Guangzhou compete with a Manchester derby, but we are seeing rapid growth in the money being spent, the salaries and the transfers. The CSL is now being broadcast around the world. The timing is great for Europeans, as the games are played early morning and midday.”
Jim Yu, founder and CEO of social gaming company, TCM Inplay, underlined the country’s growing appetite for football. "International clubs go to China every summer,” he said. "Chinese sponsors pay a lot of money for teams to play in the country. For example, the Milan derby happens in the Bird’s Nest in Beijing every year, along with numerous international friendlies.”
While Yu noted that the only legal form of sports betting in the Chinese mainland comes in the form of sports lotteries based around foreign teams, he said the government is currently considering opening up the domestic football lottery sector.
"The only legal betting activity in China is sports lottery,” Yu said. "Operators can offer every football league in the world, but no Chinese leagues. This is due to perceived match fixing and corruption. But the government is looking into providing a lottery purchase on the domestic Chinese league.”
"CSL has a lot of popularity in major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. In those cities, you will barely see empty seats. It’s difficult to get tickets, it’s getting more and more popular. The industry is picking up,” Yu added.
Nelson Ferrigni, owner and managing director at Ogoun Consulting, said it was only a matter of time before Chinese consumers can play sports lotteries based around domestic football.
Source: GMB / Totally Gaming
