Sports betting is bigger than it has ever been before, with the impact of the past year leading to lower in person attendance it has certainly helped the sports betting market thrive, and with changes to regulation in countries like the US to make sports betting much more approachable too, previously small markets are starting to grow extremely quickly. But with so many sports out there with markets to follow, which are the most popular sporting events in the world to bet on, and what has helped make them popular?
Football – With the Euro 2020 tournament having just come to an end and the World Cup now just around the corner, there’s plenty of excitement for football punters as the game continues to be one of the most popular bet games in the world. Some suggestions estimate that over £1 billion is bet in the UK every year, but with a huge number of unregulated markets its impossible to get an accurate figure, but with huge viewership numbers and being the most popular sport all over Europe and other countries like South America too, it’s no surprise that football often tops the list as the most popular sport to bet on.
NFL – Certainly, a market targeted more towards the growing betting interests in the USA, but as the biggest sport in the country it’s no surprise that it is one of the most popular sports to bet on given the huge scale of viewership. Whilst the sport isn’t huge outside of the USA, the biggest event for the sport, the Super Bowl, does get some big international viewership and big international betting options too – as it continues to grow the betting market will only grow alongside it, and continues to show why it’s one of the most popular bet sports overall.
Combat Sports – Boxing has long been a sport that is synonymous with betting, there are even occasions where some fighters can directly financially benefit from how successful the betting market has been too. Recent years have seen MMA with the UFC start to close the gap too by being another huge betting market with figures often being released on the night as a benchmark to how well an event has performed – other sports can have a huge number of different markets that make betting quite technical, but combat sports can’t be more straight forward. Winner or loser bets, knockout bets, or round prediction bets – given both sports are seeing a huge surge of viewership, it’s no surprise that different combat sports have moved their way to the top of the sports betting market, particularly as different options from other organisations start to move into the space too.