Table of Contents
Snooker is another game to have benefitted from the huge rise in televised sport with tournaments – even the minor ones – being shown right around the calendar. Those who can just remember the days of black and white TV will know that showing snooker to the nations was a pointless affair as all the coloured balls merged into each other.
Even the World Championship received no coverage but that was all changed through the 1970s and we became fascinated with the real characters of the game: Hurricane Higgins, Whirlwind White and more.
In the present day, the growth in the sport means that it’s more popular than ever from a betting point of view but are some UK bookmakers taking snooker more seriously than others?
If you’re looking for a straight win bet on any of the tournaments then pretty much all UK bookies will be quoting a price. Take the China Open in February as an example; it’s an important competition but doesn’t have the same magnitude as the Worlds or the UK Masters but all operators listed on the comparison sites are offering odds on all matches.
As far as value is concerned, no single outlet is coming out on top all of the time but the likes of Boylesports, Betfred and bet365 seem to be more consistent with strong prices on all games.
So if you’re betting on the outright winner in any tournament or, if you’re staking on each game, then you’re covered but what about side markets? Does the availability of side betting start to thin out with the more obscure punts?
Correct score betting does see your options reduce for the China Open with around 40% of bookmakers not declaring on the morning prior to the match. It will be different for the major events such as the World Championship but for the smaller competitions then you may want to focus on Betfred, Coral and Paddy Power amongst others.
Like most sports, the more ‘niche’ you go the less choice you have but all the major names focus heavily on snooker so you do have some options.
There are very few offers relating specifically to snooker and those that do come in are likely to be evident at the time of the World Championships. This tournament takes place in Sheffield in April and May each year so if you do want some promos, that is the time to be looking.
Alternatively, you could use some of the generic promotions that apply to any sport. Welcome offers such as those provided by Betway, Ladbrokes, Paddy Power and others can be used anywhere in their individual sportsbooks so if snooker is your preferred choice, you have the option to stake in those markets.
Some bookies such as Coral and bet365 will also extend their accumulator deals to cover any sport you like so once again, you can use some snooker matches if you like. Overall, the majority of UK bookmakers’ promotions tend to focus more on football and horse racing but you can either use their generic deals or wait until a major tournament comes around before looking for anything specific to snooker.
Another option is to look at who is sponsoring the event. 888sport, Dafabet and others have become heavily involved in snooker in recent years and they may be the ones to watch. Finally, as with any sport, you should be following all the best bookmakers on social media as they may issue one-off offers on a certain match and announce them on either Twitter or Facebook.
The long term availability of tournament betting depends on the size of the competition involved. Naturally, the odds for the World Championship are declared some months ahead of the event but for smaller occasions such as the German Masters for example, you’ll only be able to stake on the outright winner a few days before the first ball is struck.
Special bets are also fairly rare but typically, you could stake on how many tournaments you think a particular player will win in any given season. Paddy Power are one of the UK bookmakers who cover this option and they will always look to declare it well in advance.
Overall, the options for betting on snooker, particularly when it comes to side markets, are a little more restricted when you compare the sport with football, tennis or even darts but it is extremely popular among the betting fraternity.
Live betting is also popular in relation to snooker and as you might expect, operators such as bet365 and Stan James are the ones with the biggest selection of games in this respect.
Overall, tournament betting, match betting and correct score betting are busy markets and UK bookmakers all take snooker very seriously.
Offers and promotions may be rare but markets are busy and prices are strong from all outlets including William Hill, Coral, Ladbrokes, Betway and many more. It’s a slower paced sport but from a betting point of view it’s an exciting one to be involved in no matter who you’re backing.
