Belarussian soccer is no substitute for sports fans’ betting fix Irene Garcia Perez and Ruth McGavin , Bloomberg · May 4, 2020 at 7:29 am European sports betting firms are turning to the lesser-known thrills of Nicaraguan soccer, Ukrainian table tennis and Chinese baseball in an effort to keep punters’ cash rolling in. Denied their usual fodder by the lockdowns–from soccer action in Spain’s La Liga to the U.K.’s Grand National horse race–gaming firms are searching for ways to prop up revenue. The lack of mainstream sport deals an additional blow to companies that were in some cases already heavily indebted, having stacked up debt from the leveraged loan and bond markets. While most sectors of the leisure industry are taking a hit, the longer-term impact on gaming companies depends on their level of exposure to in-person betting activities, like casinos.