Online sports bettors turn to pingpong as leagues postpone seasons

At a time when bettors would typically be placing wagers on March Madness brackets and NHL playoff favorites, Pennsylvania sports enthusiasts are instead putting their money on Russian pingpong.

That’s according to figures released Tuesday by Rush Street Interactive, which operates the Bet Rivers.com app, the online and mobile sports betting and gaming app associated with Pittsburgh’s Rivers Casino.

“People are betting on more unique sports than usual, and because of this unusual time, we are seeing strong interest in some new areas,” Mattias Stetz, chief operating officer of Rush Street Interactive, said in a statement. “With major events being postponed, we can really showcase our broad offering of sports around the world.”

The NCAA canceled its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments March 12 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Every major American sports league, including the NBA and MLB, has put its season on hold. NHL owners are considering summer playoffs culminating in a September Stanley Cup series, and the International Olympic Committee confirmed Monday that the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be postponed.

For bettors in Pennsylvania, that left pingpong, known professionally as table tennis, and Australian rules football.

More than half the handle bet using the BetRivers. com app Sunday — about 56% — went to Table Tennis Cup Men’s Singles and Russia-Moscow Liga Pro matches.

Rush Street Interactive also operates PlaySugar House.com, the app associated with Rivers Casino Philadelphia, formerly known as SugarHouse Casino.

Table tennis also dominated bets cast through that app, accounting for 79% of the total sports betting handle Sunday, the statement said.

Bettors also showed interest in Australian rules football, which is more similar to a rugby match than a Steelers game.

That distraction, however, was short-lived: Hours after the Australian government asked citizens to cancel all nonessential travel, the Australian Football League announced it would postpone its season until May 31, the Associated Press reported.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board instructed all Pennsylvania casinos, including any brick-and-mortar sports books operating at those locations, to close March 16 in order to slow the spread of covid-19 in the state.

Casinos and sports books are still operating online apps that allow users to cast sports bets or play other games from a smartphone or desktop computer.