As the dust settles on the 2023/24 Premier League season, leading online gaming company bet365 finds itself in an unusual position. While Manchester City celebrated lifting the Premier League trophy for the fourth consecutive time, bet365 was left to count the cost of a season that ended in a way few could have predicted.
The day the punters won: The final day of the season saw all the favourites win their matches, a scenario that led to bet365 announcing it had experienced a “shockingly bad” end to the season. Steve Freeth, bet365’s PR man, described the day as one where punters signed off in style with a full house of favourites winning. The 10-fold paid 103/1 at kick-off, with nine teams paying out early thanks to bet365’s 2 Goals Ahead Payout. Adding to the company’s woes was the Acca Boost of 35 percent for all correct 10-folds, resulting in the biggest payout of the campaign. The company was given a glimmer of hope when VAR checked Kai Havertz’s late winner, but the German’s 89th-minute goal stood, sealing a miserable final day for bet365 but a joyous one for its customers.
Fury of defeat: a heavyweight loss
However, the weekend wasn’t entirely successful for punters. Saturday saw heavy favourite Tyson Fury suffer defeat at the hands of Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk in an Undisputed World Heavyweight title fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This result led to the majority of UK bettors tearing up their bets, handing bet365 a much-needed win. Despite the football results, Freeth noted that the company had a brilliant result in Riyadh with Tyson Fury being edged out on points by Oleksandr Usyk. However, any profit from this event was quickly swallowed up by the football results on Sunday.
As the season ends, bet365 is already looking ahead to the next one. The company has released early odds for the 2024/25 Premier League, with Manchester City a shade of odds-on at 10/11 to win a fifth consecutive title. Arsenal are priced at 9/4, with Liverpool at 8/1. But before that, there’s the small matter of the Euros to contend with. As this season has shown, in the world of sports betting, anything can happen.