Betting is a great way to add that extra edge while watching your favorite sports. But did you know that according to the American Gaming Association, the gross gaming revenue for sports betting was $217.3 million between August 2019 and 2021? The question is, what sports do people bet all that money on?
As the most popular sport in the world, soccer (or football for those across the pond) is also the most popular sport to bet on. The second most popular is tennis, followed by football. After these three, the most popular betting sports are basketball and baseball.
Styles of Sports Bets
Each of the following betting sports has a couple of different ways to bet on the outcome. Some are rather basic while others are a little more involved. Each have their own odds based on the performance of the teams and individuals involved.
A few basic bets include:
- Money line
- Straight
- Over/Under
The most basic bet is a money line bet. This bet simply requires you to put money on the winning side. These bets aren’t complicated by point spread conditions.
Then there are straight bets which do involve point spreads. This bet sets an underdog and a favorite for the two teams playing the game.
Betting on the underdog can be risky as you only break even if they don’t lose by the spread. It can be rewarding if you bet on them and they win, however.
Another style of bet relying on the score is the Over/Under bet. This style includes a set combined total score. In this instance, you can bet whether the combined score will go above or stay below the total line.
Each betting style often has multiple names.
Top 5 Most Popular Gambling Sports
Gambling on these sports is a favorite pastime for many across the United States and the world. It is both a great way to gain and lose money. It all depends on your knowledge of the game and players along with a bit of luck.
It’s easy to understand why gambling is popular. You get to watch a great game and feel even more invested in the outcome than without gambling.
Unfortunately, there aren’t always games to watch or bet on. During the various off-seasons and in-between games, try your luck on gambling sites. Not sure where to start? KiwiGambler offers great reviews of various online casinos.
When there are games, enjoy one of these most popular sports to bet on.
Soccer
With roughly 3.5 billion fans globally, soccer is bound to have a booming betting scene. Obviously not every fan bets on games, but a good majority do and that majority is huge.
What makes soccer so interesting from a betting standpoint is the regularity of games ending in ties. While ties are possible in other betting sports, they don’t happen as frequently as they do in soccer.
It’s at the point that in a money line bet you can also bet that the teams will tie. No matter the outcome of the match, soccer is still an exciting game of course.
At the time of writing, Chelsea FC is a favorite in the English Premier League. Toronto FC is the current in the Eastern Conference and Portland for the Western Conference of the American Major League Soccer.
Tennis
Tennis may not be nearly as popular worldwide as soccer, with roughly 1 billion fans, but it is a great betting sport. Unlike team sports, tennis only requires knowledge of a collection of individuals.
It may be for this reason that tennis is such a popular betting sport. It is certainly easier to remember that Serena Williams often does well rather than whole team makeups and individual performances of an 11 person team.
Tennis is another common money line betting sport.
Football
One of America’s favorites by far. It’s hard to imagine the United States without football somewhere in the picture. Football sits with roughly 410 million fans globally. It comes as no surprise that most fans of football are from the US.
Between fantasy football and betting on games, gambling on football is incredibly accessible. Not to mention the frequent betting offers on National Football League games increasing excitement.
At the moment, the Buffalo Bills are the NFL Super Bowl favorites. They are closely followed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Basketball
Basketball is another very popular sport in America. What sets it apart from football (aside from the game itself of course) is the following it has outside the US. Basketball has roughly 2.5 billion followers globally.
With its smaller team sizes, basketball can be a little simpler to keep track of the various players’ performances in a specific game. However, there are so many other factors that it doesn’t end up any easier to bet on.
Currently, the basketball favorites are the Los Angeles Lakers and the Brooklyn Nets.
Baseball
America’s favorite pastime. With such a long and illustrious history, baseball is a game for the ages. This is a game with roughly 500 million fans of all ages across the world.
Nine innings of baseball give ample opportunity for either team to score a win. So grab your peanuts and Cracker Jacks and head to the game.
Even though most of its history is steeped in American culture, baseball is still one of the top five betting sports. This may be because it is mostly a money line betting sport.
It certainly makes it easier when there are no other complications involving point differences like there are in other betting sports. It can also feel less exciting, but that is down to personal preference.
Last Words
Whether you’re a sports bettor or just want to enjoy the game for what it is, we can agree that the above sports are well deserving of their popularity. These 5 are the top betting sports for various reasons.
As always, be sure to bet responsibly, and may your bets be fruitful.
