Badminton Betting

What is it that differentiates badminton from other racquet-based games? Well basically it boils down to what you’re hitting around the court, in this case, the shuttlecock. Shuttlecocks have been around far longer than badminton – around 2,000 years or more in India, China and Thailand. The origins of the game that we now know as badminton comes from a game known as ‘battledore and shuttlecock’. The battledore, despite the military-sounding name, was a rudimentary racquet.

The occupying British Empire took to the game when the invaded India, and it was not long before the game was being played in England too, where they added a net to the game. The Duke of Beaufort was a particular fan of the game and would organise events at his country house in Gloucester – Badminton House. By 1875, the first badminton clubs were starting to appear and in 1887, the rules were decided upon.

Surprisingly Popular

When you think of badminton, you think of a gentle, slow sport, nothing too taxing or complicated, a game that older people play on a Sunday afternoon. It’s certainly not competition when compared to tennis, right? Well, you might be surprised. For a start, it’s the fastest racquet-based game in the world, with serving speeds reaching in excess of 200mph. But the fact that will really blow your mind is that badminton is actually the second most popular game in the world. Over 220 million people regularly play.

Despite this amazing popularity, it was not introduced as an Olympic sport until 1992. But as soon as it was, the game’s huge popularity was made clear, as 1.1 billion people tuned in to watch the first game. In London in 2012, Badminton made Olympic headlines once again – but this time for all the wrong reasons. Eight players were disqualified from the doubles competition for ‘not competing’ (i.e. deliberately losing their games). They did this in order to ensure a better draw in the competition’s later stages. The players in question would deliberately serve into the net or not make an effort to get to the shuttlecock. In a game renowned for its fast-paced exchanges, one match had a maximum rally of just four shots. The Olympic committee changed the format of the tournament for the next Olympics.

Worldwide Appeal

This is a game that is played and beloved by fans all around the world, not to mention that there is a huge amount of badminton betting that goes on. In order to see the latest badminton odds, check out our badminton odds page. Here you can bet on the world’s best players, whether they’re from China, Japan, Denmark or India.

Badminton betting is not just popular with fans. Professionals keep getting into trouble because of it. It’s a particular problem in Malaysia. In 2018, two of the country’s biggest players were handed lifetime bans for match-fixing and attempting to influence the badminton odds in their favour. The next year, it emerged that two top professionals owed huge amounts of money to loan sharks because they’d gotten involved in betting on soccer. It’s not a problem that is limited to Malaysia alone. Danish professional Joachim Persson was suspended for 18 months after irregularities were noticed in his match results.

Crazy Stats

There are some crazy statistics about badminton, and things that are worth bearing in mind if you want to engage in badminton betting. It’s a shorter game when compared to tennis, lasting on average one hour, fifteen minutes compared to about three hours. However, it’s much more active. Tennis players cover about 1.8 miles during the course of a game; badminton players go about 3.7 miles. For this reason, it’s rare (though not completely unknown) for a badminton player to play both singles and doubles.

Play Anywhere

As well as the World Championships and the Olympics, there are several other annual events that unite fans of the sport and create some great opportunities for badminton betting. The BWF Future Series is a worldwide tournament that runs throughout the year. The Thomas Cup is a biannual tournament that started in 1949. Of the thirty or so tournaments that have run since then, only five nations have won the title: Malaysia (5 times), China (10 times), Denmark (once), Japan (once) and Indonesia (13 times). Denmark will host the next competition in 2020.

In terms of the women’s game, the Uber Cup runs at the same time as the Thomas Cup. China are the most successful nation in this competition, having won 14 times. Japan have won 6 times, and Indonesia and the USA have won 3 times each. The tournament is not named for the disruptive ride-sharing app, but instead named after British Badminton player, Betty Uber, who first made the suggestion that they have a women’s tournament at the same time.

Widely considered one of the best to ever play the game, China’s Lin Dan is the breakout superstar of the sport. He is the first and only player to complete the Super Grand Slam, having won all nine titles (The Thomas Cup, The World Cup, World Championships, Olympic Games, Sudirman Cup, Super Series Masters Finals, All England Open, Asian Games and Asian Championships), the only person to have done so. He has won an extraordinary 66 titles in his career and plans to be a part of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Don’t forget to click the statistics button on our NetBet Badminton Betting page. You’ll find all sorts of information about the player, including head-to-head statistics, their last matches and their recent performance. This can help you make a clearer decision about a particular shuttler’s form and whether you should consider betting on them. However you want to bet on badminton, don’t forget to bet responsibly, and when the fun stops, you should stop too. And to really get involved, you could be like one of billions of people around the world, and join your local badminton club!