Floyd Mayweather Jr. lands a hit against Conor McGregor.Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports- REUTERS
Floyd Mayweather’s technical knockout of Conor McGregor in Saturday’s blockbuster fight saved UK bookmakers £250 million in payouts, according to new figures provided to Business Insider.
Mayweather and McGregor’s Saturday evening showdown in Las Vegas was the most bet on boxing match in UK history, according to Bet-Bonuscode.co.uk.
At least £250 million was staked on the match before it began, the gambling website claims, roughly five times as much was bet on Mayweather’s 2015 fight against Manny Pacquiao.
Across all sporting events, only the Grand National attracts more money.
Bet-Bonuscode.co.uk works closely with bookmakers and has collected figures from William Hill, Ladbrokes, Bet365.com, Coral, BetFred, and Betway on the fight.
McGregor was the fan favourite ahead of the event, despite being the underdog with the bookies. Roughly 80% of all money staked went on the Irishman, Bet-Bonuscode.co.uk said, with one Londoner betting £100,000 on McGregor to win.
If McGregor had managed to stop Mayweather, UK bookies would have had to pay out £300 million to punters. As it stands, backers of Mayweather are in-line for £50 million in payouts — a paper saving of £250 million for Britain’s bookmakers.
Alexander Kostin of Bet-Bonuscode.co.uk said Leicester City’s surprise Premier League victory last year has helped bookies by encouraging betters to put money on long-odds competitors in the hopes of a big payout.
Kostin said: “The hit the bookies took back in 2016 has actually turned out to have been a great marketing opportunity for sports betting, as proven by the Mayweather vs McGregor fight, that ended up working in the bookies favour.”
“Furthermore, we’re also seeing more women than ever placing bets. In fact, nearly 20% of all bets placed on the Mayweather vs. McGregor fight in the UK were placed by women; something unheard of until now.”
Bet-Bonuscode.co.uk said one gambler had money on a 10th round TKO and bagged £500,000 on the back of Saturday’s fight.
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