Sports betting has seen a significant surge over the last two decades, with recent technologies taking the industry to the next level. As a result, many jurisdictions including the US are lifting the ban on betting on professional and amateur sports, making it sports betting one of the most lucrative betting markets. There are dozens of sports to choose from and leading online bookmakers offer thousands of betting markets to choose from with solid odds.
Here are the world’s most popular sports that you can bet on today.
- American Football
American football is the most popular game in the US, attracting the biggest number of punters in legal and regulated sportsbooks like Betway. Most punters choose to bet on the professional American football league (NFL), while others enjoy college football. However, American football delivers all types of bets you’d like to see in a sportsbook, ranging from money lines to handicaps and specials.
- Soccer
Soccer is the World’s biggest and most played sport. As such, it accounts for a huge portion of all sports bets in the world. In the UK, for example, it’s estimated that punters wager over a billion euros every year in legal sportsbooks. However, due to the existence of many unregulated soccer betting markets, it’s hard to get accurate figures on the total amount of soccer bets placed globally.
When betting on soccer, punters can find hundreds of professional sports leagues, local and international matches. Some of the top soccer leagues you can find at Betway when looking to enjoy online sports betting Nigeria include the English Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Champions League, MLS, and others.
- Horse racing
Horse racing has been synonymous with gambling for centuries, bringing in over $100 billion to the sports betting market every year. Surprisingly, Japan is the biggest horse racing betting market, closely followed by Australia and the UK. Horse racing is also becoming huge in the USA, as many states have legalized the activity.
Horse racing fans can bet on popular events like the Cheltenham Festival, Breeders’ Cup, Pegasus World Cup, Belmont Stakes, the Grand National, and others. There are dozens of horse racing markets to choose from, but the most common ways of betting cash on horse racing are to win, to show, and place.
- Tennis
While it might be surprising to some people, tennis is among the most popular sports that you can bet on globally. The game offers a unique experience to punters since there’s no draw and every match takes 3-5 minutes to complete. That makes tennis the perfect sport to bet on if you’re looking for a fast-paced game that can deliver results quickly. You can bet on major male and female tennis tournaments like the Wimbledon, Grand Slam events, US Open, and others.
- Golf
Golf is among the fastest-growing sports in the world. With 78 players competing in a match and lots of betting formats, you can see why it has become a popular option among punters. Big golf events can take 3-4 days to complete, giving you a plethora of odds, opportunities, and variable outcomes to bet on.