Cricket is the most popular sport in Asia, and cricket betting is quite profitable. By 2032, the Asia-Pacific region’s sports betting market is projected to reach 66.53 billion USD, compared to 31.05 billion USD in 2025. This gives it a remarkable CAGR of 11.5%. The booming cricket scene in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, and advances in betting technology, explain this increase.
Overview of the Asian Betting Landscape
In Asia, the cricket betting market is a unique combination of technology-driven betting innovations and flexible public regulations. Fifty-seven percent of global betting revenue is generated from mobile wagering, with Asia leading the way due to the widespread adoption of 5G networks in certain countries.
Asian betting companies design their systems to enable real-time engagement for users, as they highly emphasize rapid stakes, especially in cricket. This is also remarkable during the Asia Cup 2025 in the UAE, where the India vs Pakistan match generated a lot of excitement and wagering on abuse. In today’s world, online cricket betting has become a crucial part of the industry because it provides users with access to live betting odds and adjustments during matches, including the Asia Cup final match that took place on September 28, 2025, which India won by beating Pakistan to secure their eighth title.
Such platforms also cover the entire season of the Indian Premier League and the Caribbean Premier League, which have gained a following among Asian bettors due to their international players, as well as their live broadcasts during matches.
Here are the main reasons for this:
- Mobile First: 5G tech allows for betting odds to be updated every second, and is used by 70% of users in India and Pakistan.
- Changing Laws: Online Gaming Bill 2025 and legislation in other countries enforce KYC protocols, while offshore operators adapt by geo-fencing their platforms to comply.
- Micro-betting: Real-time data feeds allow wagers on overs and other dismissals to account for 35% of betting activity.
- Localized Payments: Integrating UPI in India and Southeast Asia’s e-wallets eases deposits and fast access for users betting a lot of money.
Such factors illustrate the resilience of and growth within the industry, particularly in transitioning from parimutuel systems to fully automated digital exchanges.
Cricket Tournaments Driving Asian Bets
For Asian bettors, big tournaments are a betting calendar highlight. Most bets are placed during high-stakes matches, drawing immense attention from the betting community, and the volume of bets placed can be largely influenced by the match format.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is the most profitable tournament. The 2025 season is expected to have ten teams, and for the IPL, Asia is projected to have USD 1.2 billion in betting. This is expected due to the betting competition for IPL players, which has star players going for auction prices of INR 20 crore. IPL matches are so scrutinized in Asia that MelBet Indonesia has created a system to track the matches and adjusted betting odds for Southeast Asian users. The Asia Cup and the Pakistan Super League are next on the line. Owners of bets on the 2025 Asia Cup reported a 30% increase over 2023, and most increased wagers are seen near the Pakistani border, where betting drama is heightened.
Less frequent Test series attract sophisticated bets on session draws, especially in Colombo during the monsoon season, where 65% of the matches favor spinners.
Asian Handicap Betting Key Aspects
Asian Handicap systems are the pinnacle of regional cricket betting, designed to cancel out draws and balance out mismatched matches. The format of betting started in the late 1990s with Malaysian bookmakers, who provided a balance of uneven matches with runs and betting scores. Malaysian bookmakers offer in-play matches and determine the final scores for betting, ensuring two outcomes for wagering, which is clearly a binary outcome for prediction.
Asian handicap cricket betting is noted for its fractional scores in betting. For example, in a T20 match, the betting runs are -1.5, where the team/player must win by two runs, resulting in a full win of the bet. If the results are only a one-run win, the bettor is provided a refund. This margin is provided to balance the match, as tied results are common in longer cricket matches. The stakes are separated and positioned using dual lines in quarter handicaps.
Asian Handicap Types and Settlements
Asian handicap betting attempts to eliminate the “draw” possibilities, and there are three primary methods to handicap the outcomes: full integer adjustment, half, and quarter line.
| Type | Description | Example Outcome |
| Whole Number (e.g., -1.0) | A full integer adjustment will cause a draw to be possible. | Team A wins by one run. The adjusted score will tie. The bettor will receive a refund for their stake. |
| Half Line (e.g., -0.5) | Eliminates draw scenarios, thus, a clear win. | Team A wins by one run. The handicap is covered, and the bettor receives a full win. |
| Quarter Line (e.g., -0.75) | The bet is split into halves for settlement purposes. | Team A wins by one run. The bettor receives a half win, and a half win is refunded for settlement. Partial settlement. |
These features enable further analysis by the bettor. Factors like pitch conditions and toss outcomes are crucial, especially for teams batting first in Asia, which has led to a 51 percent win rate in T20s due to deteriorating surfaces.
Regional Platforms and Localized Offerings
Many providers focus on the Asian market, offering cricket-specific features, specialized payment tools, and cricket betting. This trend aligns with the growth of the Southeast Asian market, where sports betting is projected to increase from USD 3.6 billion in 2024 to an estimated USD 8.5 billion by 2033.
These sites are also innovative, offering betting exchanges where clients can bet against each other in addition to the primary handicap betting. Indonesia, where the cricket betting market is growing due to the expatriate community, has sites that allow betting on hybrid local versus international cricket events.