Money Mayweather Saves One for the Bookies
Published September 2, 2017 by Sol FH
The super fight of the century earned over $700 million, but it also saved bookies a pretty penny too.
It was the most hyped sporting event of all time. The highest grossing boxing match of all time, with the biggest purse of all time for both winner and loser. Floyd 'Money' Mayweather is now 50-0 after beating Connor McGregor in 10 rounds of their super fight. For those that have been under a rock for the last week, McGregor made a valiant effort, but ultimately the skill, speed and stamina of Money Mayweather was just way too much. The massive purse, said to be worth in excess of $700 million to be divided between the fighters, is astronomical, but there were a few other major winners thanks to this fight.
Leading up to the fight, bookmakers were seeing a huge surge in bets coming in on both men, but something about a McGregor win seemed to trump the number of bets on the favorite. When all was said and done however, it was the bookies that came out victorious, along with the fighters of course. In the UK, it was reported by Business Insider that bookmakers saved £250 million in payouts thanks to Mayweather's victory. This was the most bet on boxing match in the history of the world, and if bookies usual win big, this time they won it all. The previous record for pre-fight stakes was the Mayweather/Pacquiao fight, but that is now just a thing of the past after this behemoth ended.
Big Bets, Bigger Payouts
The consensus around the world of online bookmakers is that this was an extremely profitable fight for all. It may be in a biased location due to McGregor's heritage, but Dublin-based Paddy Power Betfair had an estimated 80% of all bets for their countryman, It was because of this that Paddy Power actually started the day on the FTSE 100 a full one percent up a day after the battle.
Some punters were able to transform the tenth round TKO into some lucrative cash, as brands like William Hill needed to make a $200,000 payout to one of their lucky members. But that is peanuts in comparison to what would have happened if McGregor would have pulled off the impossible and won. Having to pay out $50 million still hurts, but having to payout the full $300 million would have killed.
Bookmakers have an edge on bettors, but sometimes, the cards all become clear and that is the time to take the underdog. This fight went to the better boxer, Floyd Mayweather Jr., but it will really be interesting to see who will be able to break the financial records that this fight made.
