Shay Gallagher's blog : With sports coverage virtually canceled, London gamblers are betting on everything from cartoon horse racing to table tennis

Such cancellations have naturally had an impact: the sports betting market has also nearly disappeared. However, hardcore gamblers are finding a way to make a living.

In the United States, gambling is not as prominent as it is in London, where I live. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned a decades-long federal ban on sports betting in the spring of 2018, but certain states are only cautiously venturing into this still-controversial practice.

In the UK, on the other hand, gambling has been a healthy and legal business since the 1960s. There is a bookmaker store on almost every corner. The Gambling Commission, the UK's industry regulator, estimates that gamblers spend about 14 billion pounds (about $17.5 billion) a year on wagers, thanks to companies like Paddy Power, William Hill, and Ladbrokes that offer both betting apps and brick-and-mortar shops, Sports gambling is famously easy.It's like they're navigating the wild west of the internet, exploring new territories with a mix of excitement and caution.

Until there is nothing left to bet on.

Last week, I reached out to a friend of mine. He did not wish to be identified for this article, but I know only that he is one of the most dedicated gamblers I know.

He found the scraps advertised on betting sites amusing. 'I still had a bet on snooker, but that got cancelled too,' he said. Paddy Power tops the list with the Haitian Premier League.

While we were texting, he was checking out the Violette AC vs. Arcahaie FC game in Haiti.

"The Haitian League is in-play," he messaged me. Translation: It has already started and we don't know if we should bet on this match we know nothing about.

For now, he decided to suspend the operation." I had some money in my account, so I started exploring other options at casinotop.be. Blackjack, bingo, etc. I won a lot. Lost it all. It reminded me why I don't do that," he says.

Inventing his own bets

Rupert Adams is a spokesman for William Hill, a major British bookmaker (with a growing presence in the United States). He told us the situation as of March 20, when Prime Minister Boris Johnson began issuing a series of strict closure orders.

'Ireland is doing one race a day behind closed doors. 'We have a race in South Africa, we have a race in Hong Kong. 'We have a South African race, we have a Hong Kong race. Along with the Haitian league, William Hill also heavily features the Belarusian Premier League.

While we were talking, Adams checked out a match in another lesser-known league, for which William Hill offers 146 bets. He stumbled on the team name, then gave up: "I don't even know where in the world that is."

William Hill is trying to pivot to "other areas that are normally inconsequential," Adams said. Betting on esports is up 250% over normal. Table tennis (specifically Moscow Liga Pro) and "virtual racing" (effectively a lottery in which the odds are represented by animated horses) are also doing well, Adams says.

'Sumo wrestling recently made the top five,' he says. People are betting on things they know nothing about, so "in terms of profit margins, we're making quite a lot."

Gambling Corona 2

Paddy Power bookmaker in London.Newscast/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

According to Adams, William Hill had seen a lot of movement in the U.S. primary election even before the sport had come to a halt. He is confident the same will happen in the general election.

In 2016, "we took about £2 million on who would win," Adams said. 'We actually lost quite a bit. We bet quite a lot of money on Trump. He started at 100 to 1. Quite a lot of people got in early. That market is going to be very, very busy."

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'But will the elections still take place?

But even if it all gets canceled or postponed, William Hill will let you devise your own bets.

Through a hashtag called YourOdds, bettors can tweet any bet they can think of on William Hill.

"We will do our best to price that for you. Like, 'My two-year-old son will play for England. Or, 'Aliens exist.' We try to respond as best we can."

To a certain extent, of course: "We don't bet on assassinations, we don't bet on wars, we don't bet on pandemics.

Whatever I can make money on.

Last Friday, I left my apartment, turned the corner, and walked into the nearest William Hill store. On the big screen in the back was a hilarious announcer promoting soccer between Myanmar and Palestine.

That same day, Boris Johnson asked pubs, restaurants, and stores to close voluntarily. And by March 23, as the infection worsened, Johnson ordered all non-essential establishments to close or be fined and banned gatherings of more than two people. Four days later, Johnson announced that they had tested positive for the virus.

Unbeknownst to them at the time, the few bettors who had hung on here - older men with thick gray hair, young kids in track pants - were about to make their last face-to-face wager in the UK. At least for now.

Dan, a 41-year-old supermarket delivery man, was still flitting around the store in his work clothes. 'What do you have?' I asked. 'Cartoon racing,' he said.

He told me he had been a betting man since he was 15, coming into the store after work seven days a week. His family used to keep greyhounds in Walthamstow, northeast London.

He shouted at the clerk and told him how much he had bet last year: "Tell me my running total." The clerk dutifully pulled up Dan's profile and reported a number that, frankly, seemed impossible. He told me that rugby was his favorite sport.

Now that there is no rugby, what would you bet on?

Anything that makes money."

Dan said he used to run into the same core group of about 15 people here. Now, because of the virus, the older folks don't come anymore.

Looking around the room, he suddenly noticed Dan's little Jack Russell sitting obediently a few meters away. He wants to go home for a roast chicken."

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