Top Indian Premier League Betting Sites

Indian Premier League Explained 

The first edition of the IPL came in 2008, and since then it has gone from strength to strength, building itself up to become the world’s most regularly attended cricket league. Part of its popularity is the speed of the play and drama that is brought with it as it is played in the T20 format of the game, meaning that there are only 20 overs per innings.

But the biggest draw for IPL has is the fact that the best players from across the world regularly feature to play out a world-class all-star cricket tournament. So high-profile is the tournament, that all other cricket around the world stops so that the best players are available to play, and with games on every day expect some big hits and some of the most thrilling run chases you’ll find anywhere in the sport. 

Unlike other yearly sports leagues, the IPL is played in a double round-robin format, meaning that each team will play each other at least twice before a winner is decided in the final. This ensures that there is plenty of action to have a punt on as well as the guaranteed opportunity to see the best of the best face up against each other. 

The Different IPL Bets

Betting on the cricket is a little different to having a punt on the football, for example. The pace of the game is much slower, even at T20 level, and the types of bets available can also be a little bit different compared to other sports. 

Match Result 

This bet type is pretty much the same across all sports. Here you place your wager on who you think the winner of a match is going to be. As the IPL is played in the T20 format, you will always have a winner at the end of a match as there are no draws. If two teams do end a match level on runs after 20 overs, then a super over will be played to decide the winner. 

Over/Under Runs 

If you’ve got a good feeling about what the outcome of a particular match is going to be, but the odds for one side to emerge as the winner aren’t very favourable, then betting on the over/under runs market is a good way to get more value from your bet. If you think one side is going to walk to victory, then you can place a wager on them scoring highly, while if you have a feeling that one team is going to get trounced, then betting on them scoring very few runs is a good option. 

Fall of First Wicket

The pace of action in the IPL is notoriously rapid which means that the strength of a player’s mentality is crucial to their success. If a batsman’s head is not in the game from the first ball, they run the risk of losing their wicket early. So if you think a batting side’s opening partnership is particularly weak, then you can bet on them to lose their first wicket early on, in under 20.5 runs for example. But if you think the pair walking out to bat first for one team are pretty formidable, then you can wager that they’ll stand firm and hold onto their first wicket beyond the 20.5 runs mark. 

Top Batsman 

If you’ve got your eyes on a particular batsman who looks in pretty good knick, then you can place a bet on him to be the highest run-scorer in the match. It’s important to take note of the player’s form going into the match, as well as taking into account how far down the batting order they are. The highest run-scorers in T20 cricket tend to be in the middle order as these are the batsmen likely to have come in towards the end of the innings and so will be looking to finish off in style.  

Top Bowler 

It’s not all about the batsmen in cricket, as they also have to compete against the bowler. As such, you can bet on which bowler you think will have the most success during a game, which is something that can be defined by a few different factors. You can place a wager on who you think will take the most wickets, for example, or you could have a punt on who you think will bowl with the best economy — i.e. concede the least runs. Quick bowlers will often have the best economy, while spin bowlers can regularly trip up batsmen who try to hit the slower balls for a boundary only to be caught out by a fielder. 

Tournament Outright 

As well as betting on individual moments during the match, you can bet on who will be the overall tournament winner. Each year, the IPL attracts the best players competing at the peak of their game, so who a team is able to sign during the annual auction before the start of the tournament is often a good sign of who will make it through to the latter stages of the competition. But it’s also worth waiting for the first rounds of games to be played so that you can see who is playing with the most confidence and consistency. 

Advice for Betting on the IPL

Much like many other sports, success when betting on cricket requires a solid understanding of the sport as well as the quality of players on show. But there are a few other tips we would wholeheartedly recommend you follow if you’re looking to do well on the cricket markets. 

Read up on Statistics 

Cricket is a sport that is all about statistics so understanding them can often be the difference between a successful bet and an unsuccessful one. Knowing who is the biggest run maker or wicket-taker in a side can give you some idea of the qualities that a side has, for example. But digging into the stats a bit deeper to see the sort of players they score their runs or take their wickets against will give you a far clearer idea of how to place your next bet. 

Look at Recent Form

Form is very important in cricket. It’s a game that is all about confidence, so if a player goes into a game having done well in the previous match, the chances are that they could do the same again. As such, if you’re betting on a batsman to score a lot of runs in one IPL match, first check out how they did in their most recent game as well as in any other performances before that too. 

Study Recent T20 Performances 

The IPL is played in the T20 format of cricket which means that there are only 20 overs in each innings. As such, it is a far faster form of the game than test cricket, for example, and favours a very specific type of bowler and batsman. It’s a good idea to have a look at how well a player performed in their most recent T20 matches to gauge how well they’ll do in the IPL.

Cricket Betting Bonuses

When you first sign up to a new site, it’s always an added benefit to be able to start playing with an extra few funds just to get the ball rolling. Welcome bonuses are a great way for you to start out on the right foot with a betting site, but you should also keep your eye out for loyalty promotions awarded to existing players. 

Matched Deposits 

The matched deposit is one the most well known welcome bonuses available to players, and with the right wagering requirements, it can often be one of the most rewarding. As part of a matched deposit, whatever you first pay into the betting site will be matched to a certain value, like 100% up to £100 for example. But keep your eyes out for the wagering requirements which can often cause a matched deposit to be less good value than it first seemed. 

Betting on the In-Play Market

Live betting, or in-play betting as it is also known, has revolutionised the online betting industry, allowing punters to place bets while the event is ongoing. This is great in the context of the IPL because, if the side with the strongest batting form on paper suddenly loses a couple of early wickets, betting against them doesn’t seem as bad an idea as it did before the start of the match. 

Along with live betting, cash outs have also exploded in popularity in recent years, giving players the opportunity to settle a bet before the event in question has even finished. This is good if you can see your side losing their grip on a match and want to take your winnings before they are gone, but it’s also a decent way to make sure you walk away from a losing bet with at least covering the cost of your initial wager. 

Live Streaming 

The best cricket betting sites will give you the option of live streaming certain games. This is a common feature across many sportsbooks now and is dependent on whether you’ve placed a bet within the last 24 hours or have a funded account. This feature is brilliant if you want to watch the best new cricket action without paying a monthly subscription fee, but also a good way to keep up with the action. As such, you can make the most informed decision when it comes to placing an in-play bet or cashing out.

New Cricket Betting Sites

The newest cricket betting sites are often the ones that can give players the most exciting and rewarding gambling experience. Player-friendly bonuses are a regular occurrence at the newest betting sites, giving players the opportunity to claim a welcome promotion with minimal to no wagering requirements to fulfil. You’ll also find some pretty exciting new features 

Betting on the Go

Betting on the IPL via your mobile has never been better or easier. The best betting sites will give you the option of playing via a native mobile app that can be downloaded to your iOS or Android handset. Using a native app has a lot of benefits, chief amongst which is the faster processing speeds. 

A native app will also have largely the same functionality as the desktop counterpart, meaning that exciting features like live streaming, for example, can also be accessed with ease. And what’s more, push notifications will keep you in the loop about upcoming promotions and developments in your bet. 

Not every site will have a native app for punters to choose from, but every site we’ve featured in this list will at least have a fully optimised mobile site for you to use.

Alternatives to the Indian Premier League 

Cricket has become an enormously popular sport in recent years, with the excitement of the T20 format of the game attracting millions of fans and spectators each year. As such, there are many different alternative cricket tournaments around the world that you can bet on. 

The Big Bash League in Australia, the T20 Blast in England and Caribbean Premier League in the West Indies, for example, are just a few of the other domestic 20 over cricket competitions you can bet on. But T20 can also be played at an international level too, meaning that you will often find that teams like Australia will play England, for example, in a T20 series. 

There are other competitions for other formats of the game too, like the ICC World Cup which is played in the 50 over one day international format. But if you’re after the longer and more traditional format, then you’ll be pleased to hear that the five-day format is played around the world at both a domestic and international level. The most famous five-day format is probably the Ashes series, which is contested between England and Australia every two years.