Betting on Chess

In the US there is no such thing as betting on chess. In truth, it’s not exactly the world’s foremost athletic activity, but chess can tire out your wrist. Being one of the world’s oldest games, it’s no surprise that sportsbooks are starting to take note of the number of fans who watch competitive games regularly.

Introduction: Betting on Chess

The World Chess Championship is a worldwide media event. Whether you call it a sport or not, US bookmakers are looking at the game as a new financial stream. The world’s grandmasters are presently competing in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Meanwhile, the US state regulators are moving even more slowly than your average chess game. They have to approve the move before chess can be offered on US sportsbooks like Bet Online. In Europe, betting on the outcome of a game of chess is perfectly normal. Sportsbooks have been offering odds for years. In fact, Unibet, one of the biggest betting companies, signed up the world champion, Magnus Carlsen in a two-year sponsorship deal.

Betting on Marcus Carlson

Carlson is probably the most famous face of chess for the younger generation. The chief commercial officer of Unibet’s parent company, Kindred Group, suggested that they have experienced some success with chess betting. “I joined the company in 2009 and we were discussing around chess as far back as 2010,” Darch said. “We often see on a big match day or a big chess tournament. As many players are interested around chess as they are on Premier League.” But in the US they like to do things differently. So far, no sportsbook has been able to offer the game open for betting.

PointsBet Interested in Chess

One betting company who’s interested in seeing chess become a regulated sport open to wagers in the US is PointsBet. Their director of communications is Patrick Eichner. He said that they have been in contact with the State regulator. But as yet the regulator isn’t replying as to whether chess betting is going to be permitted. But Eichner made it clear that the company would want to continue to offer chess betting. “If approved, [chess betting] would be perpetual, so we would have the ability to offer to bet on major chess events in the future,” Eichner said. “For the Candidates Tournament, we would probably offer 3-way results on all ongoing matches. Moving forward, [Pointsbet] would offer futures for tourney winners on the Grenke Chess Classic, World Championship, along with other events.”

Betting On Chess Not Exciting Enough

Eichner also told online sportsbook news in the US that his company would be looking for new and more exciting ways to spruce up the rather dull game. To that end, they are presently in touch with their European sportsbooks. The idea is to brainstorm and try and come up with new wagering ideas. Because Europe has a history when it comes to chess betting, Eichner is hoping to find something that will not only bring in revenue but also keep the punters at the front of their seats.

Unibet Shows The Way

Right now, Unibet is the number one player when it comes to betting on chess. They represent a huge number of both new and traditional sports. For example, in Saturday’s fourth-round games, the US grandmaster Fabiano Caruana was at +260 to beat Ian Nepomniachtchi. The Russian is at +1200, but with the advantage of playing white. In high-level chess, draws are commonplace, so you shouldn’t be surprised to see odds like these. Presently the tournament favorite is Caruana at+150. It should be noted that other bookmakers have tried to introduce new sports in the past. With the present situation, there’s a total lack of almost all sports. So maybe now is the time for the online sportsbook sites in the US to branch out.

You can learn more about Bet Online here.