Indian Premier League betting

The Indian Premier League is indisputably the world’s most popular Twenty20 cricket league, with IPL betting done by millions of people around the globe every year. IPL betting is available at all the cricket bookmakers we promote around the world. IPL bookmakers will have odds available on the tournament all year round, but the markets offered will heat up when the tournament draws near. By the conclusion of our How to bet on the IPL guide you will have an in-depth understanding of IPL betting, the top IPL bookmakers and who the most successful teams are.


Top IPL bookmakers 2023

The best IPL bookmakers for the 2023 season include many of the biggest names in cricket betting, such as William Hill and Betway, but the top bookmaker for you will really depend on where you are in the world.

For instance if you are in India, there are a number of good IPL online bookmakers, that cater specifically to the Rupee, and allow you to wager from both mobile phones and your computers. These include brands such as 10Cric and MelBet, but if you are looking for a broader service, companies such as 888Sport and Betway accept customers from India.

Because there are only vague laws surrounding offshore online bookmakers in India, many betting sites accept INR deposits and players, even if they don’t outwardly advertise to this market.

With IPL betting exceptionally popular, including in cricket-loving nations like South Africa, Australia, England and New Zealand, pretty much every cricket bookmaker will have odds available on the T20 competition. Check out our guide to the best IPL betting sites.


Best mobile bookmakers for IPL betting

The majority of IPL betting is done via mobile bookmakers, with this basically a smartphone- and tablet-friendly version of the desktop site. These are instant-play mobile solutions to bet on the IPL, with mobile bookmakers also available via apps.

Bookmaker apps as a general rule are available on smartphones that have the iOS or Android operating systems, and in short are a small software download that allow you to instant access to IPL odds, promotions and other betting needs.

The best mobile bookmakers for the IPL largely depends on what your location is, but luckily our tables have picked up your location and are only displaying gambling sites that accept players from your jurisdiction.

Our guide to the top IPL betting apps is extensive and covers all cricket playing nations. We recommend reading it before choosing an online betting app.


Indian Premier League betting explained

The IPL is the no.1 most bet upon league in India, with billions of INR wagered every year. This is hardly a surprise given the host nation’s population of just north of 1.4 billion is absolutely cricket crazy.

But it is not only the weight of numbers (and money wagered with bookmakers, both legal and through less trustworthy channels) that makes this league so widely watched.

The IPL (through its player auction system) attracts the best of the world’s short-form cricketers to India for the seven-week tournament which usually runs roughly from early April to late May.

Add these explosive batsmen and skilful bowlers to the fanatical support from the terraces and you have a spectacle of the highest order. The noise at some of these matches is incredible.

Who does not love the sight of the likes of Virat Kohli and Jos Buttler trying to put the pacemen and spinners alike to the sword?

The teams play each other twice during the regular part of the IPL tournament, with the top four teams then advancing to the play-offs.

In the play-offs the top team plays the second team for the right to advance straight to the final. The losers then play the winners of the elimination final between the third and fourth teams for the other place in the final.

How does the IPL player system work?

The franchises choose which players to retain and which to release from the previous season. Releasing players clears space in their salary cap which they can then use in the player auction, which is generally held in late January/early February.

The Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals returned for the 2018 season after being suspended for the 2016 and 2017 seasons, while the teams that replaced them from Pune and Rajkot join the defunct list.

For the 2019 season, the Delhi Daredevils have been renamed as the Delhi Capitals, presumably in a bid to shake off their tag as perennial strugglers in the IPL.

In 2022, the Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans, with the latter winning a title in their first season.

The Indian Premier League teams

Chennai Super Kings

The four-time champions made a triumphant return in the 2018 season after serving their two-year ban and returned to their place among the most successful franchises in the league. The franchise started in 2008 and is based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, and plays its home matches at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium. After their stunning run to the title in 2018, the Super Kings struck again in 2021 to make it four titles.

Rajasthan Royals

The other returning team in 2018. They of course won inaugural IPL title but had not made the final until their impressive run to the decider in 2022. Home matches are played at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur and also in Ahmedabad and Mumbai.

Delhi Capitals (formerly Daredevils)

One of the original franchises but the Daredevils have not yet enjoyed great success, especially when it comes to the play-offs. They reached the final for the first time in 2020. Their home ground is the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground in Delhi and they play some home matches at the Raipur International Cricket Stadium.

Kolkata Knight Riders

One of the glamour teams of the competition and generally have backed it up with performances on the pitch. KKR, owned in part by the King of Bollywood Shahrukh Khan, won the title in 2012 and 2014 after a few early years of struggle and also finished as runners-up in 2021. The Knight Riders play in the biggest cricket stadium in India, Eden Gardens in Kolkata, with a capacity of almost 70,000, and are also the most valuable of the franchises by estimated value.

Kings XI Punjab

The high point to date in the history of this foundation franchise was reaching the final of the 2014 tournament, which they lost to Kolkata. That season was driven by outstanding performances by all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who was named player of the tournament. Bollywood superstar Preity Zinta brings the glamour to this franchise as part-owner and they play most home matches at PCA Stadium in Mohali. They tried a succession of Australian coaches in Tom Moody, Michael Bevan, Adam Gilchrist and Darren Lehmann before former Indian all-rounder Sanjay Bangar took the reins in 2014. They went back to the Australian angle with Brad Hodge the head coach for 2018, but former New Zealand national coach Mike Hesson takes over in 2019.

Mumbai Indians

Another foundation franchise and the most successful in terms of titles won with five, having come out on top in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020. They play home matches at Wankhede Stadium. After a battle in the first two seasons, Mumbai have arguably set the benchmark for performance. Of course, it helps to have been able to call on players such as Indian national treasure Sachin Tendulkar and the world’s greatest T20 bowler Lasith Malinga from Sri Lanka.

Royal Challengers Bangalore

A foundation franchise and could be rated the nearly men of the IPL, making the final three times without winning one. Home ground is M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. They have India’s best batsman Virat Kohli in their line-up.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

SRH as they are known joined the IPL to replace Deccan Chargers for the 2013 season and have a real Australian flavour through coach Tom Moody and David Warner, the power-hitting left-handed opener. The Sunrisers, based in Hyderabad, made the play-offs in their debut season and won the title in 2016 and were runners-up in 2018.

Defunct teams

Deccan Chargers
Kochi Tuskers Kerala
Pune Warriors India
Rising Pune Supergiants
Gujarat Lions

List of Indian Premier League champions

YearWinnersRunners-upTop run-scorerTop wicket-takerPlayer of series
2008Rajasthan RoyalsChennai Super KingsShaun Marsh (Punjab) 616Sohail Tanvir (Rajasthan) 22Shane Watson (Rajasthan)
2009Deccan ChargersRoyal Challengers BangaloreMatthew Hayden (Chennai) 572RP Singh (Deccan) 23Adam Gilchrist (Deccan)
2010Chennai Super KingsMumbai IndiansSachin Tendulkar (Mumbai) 618Pragyan Ojha (Deccan) 21Sachin Tendulkar
2011Chennai Super KingsRoyal Challengers BangaloreChris Gayle (RCB)
608
Lasith Malinga (Mumbai) 28Chris Gayle (RCB)
2012Kolkata Knight RidersChennai Super KingsChris Gayle (RCB) 733Morne Morkel (DD) 25Sunil Narine (KKR)
2013Mumbai IndiansChennai Super KingsMichael Hussey (CSK) 733Dwayne Bravo (CSK) 32Shane Watson (RR)
2014Kolkata Knight RidersKings XI PunjabRobin Uthappa (KKR) 660Mohit Sharma (CSK) 23Glenn Maxwell (KXIP)
2015Mumbai IndiansChennai Super KingsDavid Warner (SRH) 562Dwayne Bravo (CSK) 26Andre Russell (KKR)
2016Sunrisers HyderabadRoyal Challengers BangaloreVirat Kohli (RCB) 973Bhuvneshwar Kumar (SRH) 23Virat Kohli (RCB)
2017Mumbai IndiansRising Pune SupergiantsDavid Warner (SRH) 641Bhuvneshwar Kumar (SRH) 26Ben Stokes (RPS)
2018Chennai Super KingsSunrisers HyderabadKane Williamson (SRH) 735Andrew Tye (KXIP) 24Sunil Narine (KKR)
2019Mumbai IndiansChennai Super KingsDavid Warner (SRH) 692Imran Tahir (CSK) 20Andre Russell (KKR)
2020Mumbai IndiansDelhi CapitalsKL Rahul (KXIP) 670Kagiso Rabada (DC) 30Jofra Archer (RR)
2021Chennai Super KingsKolkata Knight RidersRuturaj Gaikwad (CSK) 635Harshal Patel (RCB) 32Harshal Patel (RCB)
2022Gujarat TitansRajasthan RoyalsJos Buttler (RR) 863Yuzvendra Chahal (RR) 27Jos Buttler (RR)

Betting on the IPL

It is almost impossible to gauge betting turnover on the Indian Premier League, given that a large percentage of it goes through illegal bookmakers in India and elsewhere. Suffice to say the numbers are eye-watering.

You can place bets on all the usual outcomes, such as head-to-head betting, most runs, most wickets and even the toss of the coin. See here for our guide to betting on cricket, including bet types.

You can also bet on such season-long propositions as the league’s top wicket-taker and run-scorer, who will be champions and even the player of the series.

Spot betting is also popular, particularly in the subcontinent, but not always available elsewhere. This is where you can bet on the outcome of pretty much any ball or event during a match. Will it be a wide, no-ball, hit for four, six, a single and so on. This is the form of betting arguably most open to match fixing, with players offered large sums of money to guarantee a certain outcome on a certain ball.

Whatever your preferred method of betting, we advise sticking with respected sportsbooks with a history of open and honest dealings for all your IPL wagers.

We will only recommend bookmakers with whom we have dealt for extended periods, and they will all have extensive options for betting on cricket and, particularly, the IPL.

Bet365 has a huge variety of cricket markets and offers competitive sign-up bonuses in the form of matching your initial deposit with bonus bets. See here.

Brief history of the Indian Premier League

The IPL was formed in 2008 by the Board of Control for Cricket in India in response to the formation of the rebel Indian Cricket League, funded by billionaire Subhash Chandra, the founder of Zee Entertainment Enterprises.

The BCCI banned players from competing in the ICL and set about setting up its own domestic Twenty20 league, with businessman Lalit Modi charged with the task.

In January 2008, an auction was held to sell eight franchises for the new league. They fetched more than $US723 million and the franchises were to be based in Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Mohali, Hyderabad and Jaipur.

While the ICL went out of business in 2009, the IPL has thrived, though there have been a few controversies along the way, including the two-year suspensions handed to Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals over a betting scandal.

Since the IPL’s inception other franchises – Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Pune Warriors India – have come and gone, while Deccan Chargers won a title in 2009 but before the 2013 season they were replaced by Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Rising Pune Supergiants and Team Rajkot were announced in late 2015 as the replacements for Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals for the 2016 and 2017 seasons.