Bookmakers in Russia’s World Cup host cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg have seen a fivefold increase in online searches during the tournament, according to data gathered by Russia’s top search engine.
Tech giant Yandex uses data from its map service to determine what interests users in a particular city. All 11 of the football World Cup host cities in Russia saw a spike in searches for tourist attractions, Yandex announced last week.
On Friday, Yandex said average searches for bookmakers went up by 374 percent nationwide between May and July. Searches for stadiums and parking spots followed, with an increase of 247 percent and 126 percent each.
Searches for bookmakers in Moscow grew fivefold in the first three weeks of the World Cup, between June 14 and July 15, the RBC business portal quoted Yandex data as showing.
Bookmakers also topped the search list in St. Petersburg with an increase of 455 percent, according to data shared with the city’s Forpost-sz.ru news website.
One of the country's largest bookmakers, Liga Stavok, saw a fivefold increase in the number of bets placed in comparison to the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament. The numbers far outpaced its modest pre-World Cup prediction of 150 percent growth during the tournament, the Bell business news website reported earlier in July.
RBC reported that Yandex.Maps data in Moscow showed twice as many searches for stadiums and sports bars, followed by hostels and pubs.
However, RBC noted that the top five searched places in Moscow “consist entirely of strip clubs and strip bars.”
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
