Sepak Takraw Betting: A Quick Dive

We recently did an article on teqball betting, a sport that we are sure many of you were unfamiliar with before that posting. It is like football served on a ping pong table. You can find it on a Wikipedia page listing what some have dubbed hybrid sports. On there, sepak takraw is also featured, which we would call teqball’s sister sport. It has gotten nicknamed acrobatic volleyball and has a decent level of establishment, for what it is, in Southeast Asia.

The best way to describe sepak takraw is to say it is a blend of martial arts, soccer/football, and volleyball. To be honest, we do not know if we did it justice with that description, but it is a very unique and exciting sport to watch. It gets played with a woven rattan or synthetic ball, the latter in pro competitions, and demands extraordinary athleticism. Why? Well, because to be a top sepak takraw player, one must be able to execute jaw-dropping kicks, flips, and mid-air spikes without the use of ones hands.

Sepak is kick in Malay, and takraw is a reference to the rattan ball in Thai. According to what we have read, this competition type has allegedly roots in Southeast Asian villages and their native culture. We are not too sure how accurate that is, as we have not explored it to that degree, but it apparently can get traced back to being played as far as the 15th century. We can tell you we have seen it played in arenas, ones where international handball and volleyball competitions get held, and it seems to captivate audiences with its high energy. We have seen sepak takraw betting getting featured at the same sites that have put up teqball wagering, 1xBet, 22Bet, and so on, so we decided to give you the lowdown on this sport as well, unpacking its mechanics, wagering markets, and overall potential.

Rules & Gameplay of Sepak Takraw

The sport gets played by teams of two to four players. Some call it foot volleyball or buka ball as well, and its action transpires on a badminton-sized court, traditionally measuring 13.4 meters by 6.1 meters. The court gets divided by a net which has been set at 1.5 meters for men. For women, it is set at 1.42 m.

As noted above, per tradition, the ball should be rattan-woven, but for pro contests it is usually synthetic, weighing around 250 grams, featuring a dozen holes with twenty intersections for aerodynamic stability.

On every team, there is a server—Tekong—who starts from a back circle. A feeder who sets up plays (also called a tosser or setter), and then you have the striker, who stands on the right. He is also nicknamed the killer or attacker. His job is to primarily deliver powerful kicks, spiking the ball to the opponent’s side.

The objective of a game round in sepak takraw is simple: send the ball over the net and score by grounding the ball on the opponent’s side or forcing a fault. Matches get played in the best-of-three sets format, with each set won by whoever accumulates twenty-one points. You require a two-point lead in ties, like in many street games. The service here alternates every three points.

Much of the flair of sepak takraw lies in its competitors playing the game with acrobatic skill, meaning doing bicycle kicks, somersaults, and mid-air volleys.

Where Is Sepak Takraw Popular & International Regulation?

Sepak takraw is mostly played in countries like Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines. In Malaysia, it is somewhat of a national sport and can be seen woven into school curriculums and community festivals. In Thailand, it is also played professionally, semi-professionally, and recreationally, and the same goes for the Philippines and Indonesia, where sepak takraw events draw sizeable crowds for local and national-level tournaments.

Beyond its home base of Southeast Asia, the Internet tells us that in countries like France, Germany, and the UK, sepak takraw federations are getting created, and amateur clubs are popping up. The same seems to hold for North America, as grassroots events have been organized in Canada and the US in the past few years.

Founded in 1988, the International Sepak Takraw Federation (ISTAF) is the governing body that handles the sport on an international level, and to date, it has fifty national associations, including countries like Sudan, Serbia, Colombia, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, Brunei, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan, and Malta.

The ISTAF is the organization that handles the sport’s top international tournaments, which are its World Cup and the SuperSeries. These are the ones that will usually get put up at some sportsbooks for wagering action, as they are the most high-profile ones, and the ones for which good odds can be created. There are also the Asian Games, where sepak takraw has been a medal sport since 1990, and the Southeast Asian Games, where it has been present since 1967.

Another major event to look out for is the King’s Cup Sepak Takraw World Championship, held annually in Thailand.

An Overview of Sepak Takraw Betting

We have read, but do not know how accurate it is, that at platforms targeting Southeast Asian gamblers, sepak takraw is presented quite well, with local markets offered on games from Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. We should highlight that in some Asian territories, there are legal challenges. For example, Malaysia’s Sharia Law restricts gambling. But that just pushes bettors to offshore platforms, which most Asians are using anyway. Similar legal problems exist in Indonesia.

As far as markets go, you have the typical ones. These are match winners, point spreads, totals, set betting, and various player props. Live wagering should be on the table at sites that have a history of listing sepak takraw competitions, and regarding props, you have unique ones to the sport like the number of successful spikes by a striker, or blocks by a feeder.

For those not from Asia who have gotten into this sport, its niche status can be seen as a boon, as they can find less crowded markets with undervalued underdogs. Still, for bettors unfamiliar with the sport, it should be pointed out that this is a dynamic one where things change at a fast clip, and live odds can switch around swiftly on spikes, as this is a game of momentum, akin to handball or basketball.

Top Bitcoin Betting Sites