For most of us around the world it appears as if some of our favourite sporting events are on the cusp of returning – within Europe the major football leagues have either already begun or are just around the corner with busy schedules and loaded fixtures, the same is also true for UK racing as the Royal Ascot is also just weeks away. The same is true in other parts of the world as motorsport has been heating up in the US as NASCAR gets back underway and combat sports have also had a good go at this as the UFC gives MMA a kickstart again – not only great for viewers, but also great for betting fans as a busy schedule means a lot of opportunity – many had fallen on hard times as of late due to the restrictions placed on sporting events, and whilst we like these casinos not blocked by initiatives such as gamstop, betting is very much going to be on the rise again – but can a history in sporting odds help influence your bet?
It’s tough to say – across all sporting events heading forward there will definitely be the potential for a larger upset to happen as the athletes return to form – this has already been seen within football as some sources suggest that there could be an increased injury rate of up to 25% whilst players enter a more intense schedule, players getting injured early on could cause a huge shift for some teams where they may not to be able to perform optimally. Within combat sports it may come down to some fighters not having enough opportunity to train properly and prepare – even some very short notice changes could have a wider impact. There’s also another aspect to competition that has been changed perhaps for the longer term – many events will be unable to have fans in attendance for the foreseeable future as social distancing norms remain in place, with some experts suggesting that this may remain true until a vaccine is found – quiet stadiums and no fans may have a bigger impact on athletes, either for better or for worse, than some may realise.
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Usually pundits could turn to these odds to inform a decision around who may be the better team or athlete to bet on, and whilst to some degree that holds some truth, the current form of competition is now very different due to these many factors and odds from prior events may now be a little skewed – this could lead to some anomalies in historical odds shift in favour of different teams. The good news either way is that there are some busy schedules ahead – in a bid to see some seasoned play drawn to a close in preparation for next year's fixtures, there will be efforts to squeeze a number of months worth of games in to a shorter period of time – lots to watch, and lots of opportunity, but perhaps a little harder to predict than usual.
