{"id":136181,"date":"2020-05-18T16:21:01","date_gmt":"2020-05-18T23:21:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=136181"},"modified":"2020-05-18T16:46:54","modified_gmt":"2020-05-18T23:46:54","slug":"bundesliga-betting-is-back-german-soccer-first-to-kick-off-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/bundesliga-betting-is-back-german-soccer-first-to-kick-off-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Bundesliga Betting is Back: German Soccer First to Kick Off Again as Lockdown Eases"},"content":{"rendered":"

Germany\u2019s Bundesliga is the first major European soccer league to return to action, with games progressing behind closed doors from Saturday to Monday.<\/p>\n

\"Bundesliga
Bayern Munich goalie Manuel Neuer checks out the sea of empty seats as his team beat Union Berlin 2-0 on Sunday. (Image: Hannibal Hanschke\/Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While the matches were as physical as ever, with tackles flying and groups of players jostling together during set pieces, pre-match handshakes and team photos were scrapped in a nod to social distancing. Balls were disinfected before and during the game, and, of course, the matches were played in stadiums that were eerily quiet.<\/p>\n

Borussia Munchengladbach is trying to lighten proceedings by installing 16,500 life-sized cut-out fans in the Borussia Park stadium (capacity 60,000). But since the team was away to Frankfurt on Saturday, we didn\u2019t get to see any fans at all this week \u2013 not even the cardboard variety.<\/p>\n

Goal scorers now bump elbows rather than hug their teammates, although Hertha Berlin players didn\u2019t get the memo. Officials say, though, they won\u2019t be punished for embracing in celebration during Saturday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

The New Normal<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This is the \u201cnew normal\u201d for German soccer. And while the atmosphere may have been strange inside the stadiums, for bookmakers — and soccer fans — it could not have come soon enough.<\/p>\n

Both have been starved of soccer since the coronavirus halted elite sporting events across the world in March. Last week, William Hill reported a 90 percent downturn in sports betting at its US books, and a 70 percent dip globally.<\/p>\n

\n

The only soccer league left to bet on has been the Belarusian Premier League, which soldiered on because the country\u2019s president, Alexander Lukashenko, believes the virus can be cured by vodka and saunas.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The BPL\u2019s moment in the limelight is probably now over, because the Bundesliga is something of a step up. In fact, it\u2019s the first elite team sports league to reopen anywhere since the coronavirus lockdown.<\/p>\n

Bayern Leads Pack<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The German top-tier was suspended with each team having 11 games left to play and bookies\u2019 favorite, the mighty Bayern Munich, leading by four points.<\/p>\n

With a comfortable 2-0 victory against Union Berlin on Sunday, Bayern is now 1\/5 to win its 30th<\/sup> national title.<\/p>\n

But the team\u2019s match away to second-place Borussia Dortmund next week will be the one to watch. Bayern is around even money to win the clash. But if you think Dortmund might throw a monkey wrench in the works, sparking a thrilling race to the finish, the team is 9\/4 with most bookmakers to win next week .<\/p>\n

More to Come?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Europe\u2019s other biggest leagues — the EPL, La Liga and Serie A — also hope to complete their seasons and are plotting a mid-June restart, health officials permitting.<\/p>\n

Should the resumption of the Bundesliga prove to be successful, others will follow — but not all. Some, such as Holland\u2019s Eredivisie and France\u2019s Ligue 1, have canceled their seasons already.<\/p>\n

On Monday, the Scottish Premiership followed suit, crowning Celtic the winner and relegating Hearts in the process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Germany\u2019s Bundesliga is the first major European soccer league to return to action, with games progressing behind closed doors from Saturday to Monday. While the matches were as physical as ever, with tackles flying and groups of players jostling together during set pieces, pre-match handshakes and team photos were scrapped in a nod to social […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":136182,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBundesliga Betting is Back: German Soccer First to Kick Off Again<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bundesliga becomes the first elite team-sport league to return from coronavirus lockdown, Bayern Munich get back to business against Union Berlin.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bundesliga Betting is Back: German Soccer First to Kick Off Again\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bundesliga becomes the first elite team-sport league to return from coronavirus lockdown, Bayern Munich get back to business against Union Berlin.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/bundesliga-betting-is-back-german-soccer-first-to-kick-off-again\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-05-18T23:21:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-05-18T23:46:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/munich.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/bundesliga-betting-is-back-german-soccer-first-to-kick-off-again\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/bundesliga-betting-is-back-german-soccer-first-to-kick-off-again\/\",\"name\":\"Bundesliga Betting is Back: German Soccer First to Kick Off Again\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/bundesliga-betting-is-back-german-soccer-first-to-kick-off-again\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/bundesliga-betting-is-back-german-soccer-first-to-kick-off-again\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/munich.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-05-18T23:21:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-05-18T23:46:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Bundesliga becomes the first elite team-sport league to return from coronavirus lockdown, Bayern Munich get back to business against Union Berlin.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/bundesliga-betting-is-back-german-soccer-first-to-kick-off-again\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/bundesliga-betting-is-back-german-soccer-first-to-kick-off-again\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/bundesliga-betting-is-back-german-soccer-first-to-kick-off-again\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/munich.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/munich.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"Bayern Munich goalie Manuel Neuer checks out the sea of empty seats as his team beat Union Berlin 2-0 on Sunday. 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