Russia wagering falls as ruble declines; junior hockey a betting magnet

Russia‘s sports bettors dramatically reduced the size of their average wagers in Q1 due to the sharp decline in value of the ruble.

According to statistics compiled by Russian bookmaker Rub90, the average bet over the first three months of 2016 was worth $11.39, down $4.13 from Q4 2015. The decline reflects the ruble’s January plunge to a record low thanks to the falling price of oil, Russia’s main export.

Basketball attracted the largest average wagers at $14.57, followed by hockey ($13.51), football ($12.29), handball ($10.02) and volleyball ($9.17). Football’s fall was fairly spectacular, as the sport attracted average wagers of $19.27 in Q4 2015.

Football managed to hold on to its top ranking in terms of the percentage of overall sports wagering, although it’s 32.3% share was seven points lower than in Q4. By contrast, basketball gained 6.5 points to 19.7% and hockey rose three points to 17.5%. Tennis held on to fourth place with 14.7% while volleyball claimed 12%.