UK Bookies Hope for Record Profits on World Darts Championship

Leading sports betting operators in the United Kingdom are looking forward to the William Hill PDC World Darts Championship as they expect to see record revenues during the showpiece tournament.

The Premier League Darts has quickly become one of the most popular sports events in the UK with the World Darts Championship now set for 22nd edition.

The tournament will be held between 17 December and 4 January at the Alexandra Palace in London, and it looks as it will be one of the most heavily bet events in quite a while.

Over £50 Million to be Staked on the Tournament

With the high-profile event coinciding with the festive period, it is expected that over £50 million will be wagered on the tournament in United Kingdom alone.

PDC recently announced that record 66,000 tickets had been sold for the tournament in London, and some other records are likely to be broken as well.

Sky Sports saw over 4 million viewers tune in for the coverage of the 2015 PDC World Darts Championship, but they also expect to break the record this term.

The main sponsor William Hill will probably profit the most from the highly anticipated event and the fact they have just extended their sponsorship until 2020 is enough to suggest the money invested has paid off big time.

World number one Michael van Gerwen, who lifted the title in 2013 and 2014, is again seen as the main candidate for the trophy, with defending champion Gary Anderson and last year’s finalist Phil Taylor likely to challenge van Gerwen for the coveted trophy.

Elsehwere in the UK, DraftKings Postpone Launch

Meanwhile DraftKings, one of the leading daily fantasy sports operators, has again postponed the launch of a UK facing website, this time until early 2016.

Initially planned for October and then December, the launch has been pushed back one more time, despite the fact that the company had received the UK Gambling Commission license back in August.

But, with the operator fully focused on the huge legal fight in the United States and their revenues dropping steadily, it is hardly surprising they have opted against another serious investment, at least for the time being.