Sports keep the world connected and every country has a list of popular sports. Some of these sports are the same in different places across the world while a few are the unique “national sports” of certain countries. Either way, when a sport is prominent in one place, it inevitably becomes a hot betting market.
The rise of global sports betting is well-documented, though which sports are the most sought-after for punters? If you’re thinking of joining foreign betting sites to place a few wagers, keep an eye on the following sporting activities:
Soccer
Soccer – or football – commands a global audience. It sees peak popularity across Europe and South America, but most countries will be interested in this sport. The international appeal is mainly down to how diverse different footballing leagues are. Big leagues in the UK, Spain, or Italy will feature players from Africa, South America, Asia, and more.
When you look at every other sport in the world, nothing comes close to soccer in terms of the diverse player base in various countries. It keeps fans interested – and a report from WorldAtlas claims there are over 3.5 billion soccer fans on the planet; the biggest fanbase by over a billion.
Tennis
The strange thing about tennis is that it’s not considered a “national sport” by any country. And yet, it has a massive fandom and is played professionally all over the globe. Tennis tournaments span every continent for men and women, probably a big reason it is one of the most well-liked sports betting markets.
The other reason is likely down to the presence of amateur tennis betting. In this sport, you have the ATP and WTA tours, representing professional tennis for men and women. There’s also the ITF – an overall governing body responsible for the four Grand Slams. However, below these tours you have semi-pro and junior circuits, giving you hundreds more tournaments to bet on throughout the year.
There are probably more tennis events to bet on at any given time than any sport bar soccer. Nothing else comes remotely close when you consider this sport is played throughout the year in every country.
Cricket
Initially, cricket doesn’t look like a hugely popular sport. It’s not something that’s known about or watched with great vigor in a few key markets: North/South America and the majority of Europe. If you genuinely sit down and think about it, cricket is only beloved in these locations:
- Great Britain
- India
- Pakistan
- Sri Lanka
- Bangladesh
- The Caribbean
- Australia
- New Zealand
- South Africa
That’s not the longest list in the world – but it does contain a couple of countries that explain this sport’s global popularity. Cricket is one of the biggest sports in India and Pakistan and is regularly watched by millions of people every year. There are also plenty of immigrants in countries around the world heralding from these places, which helps the popularity of cricket spread.
It’s legitimately big enough in these two countries to become a massive betting market – so imagine what could happen if it takes off in the US. Cricket’s main governing bodies are trying their best with the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup held in America earlier this year.
Basketball
Basketball is one of three sports on this list that gained most of its popularity from a US audience. Known as one of the top sports in North America, basketball is watched by millions of viewers every week. Statista shows the average viewing figures for a regular reason NBA match is 1.56 million!
And that’s before we consider basketball’s popularity in other parts of the world! It has a pretty big following in Central Europe with Spain, Germany, and Serbia being particularly fond of the sport. There’s also a decent market for it in China and parts of Africa – but the NBA itself is generally globally popular.
It’s a league that defies boundaries and almost everyone can name at least one basketball player or team. Thanks to social media, basketball’s global growth has accelerated in the last decade and it’s now comfortably one of the biggest sports betting markets in the world.
American Football
You probably think American Football is mainly popular in North America – and you’d be right.
It’s a unique sport as it doesn’t have the same global prominence as many others, yet the audience in the US is enough to keep it going. By all means, you’ll find American Football fans in different countries but it’s not played elsewhere and you certainly won’t come across many big American Football leagues.
Why is it such a huge sports betting market then? Because the NFL season is long, it always presents unique ways to bet. The Superbowl is also one of the biggest events on the sporting calendar and the amount of wagers placed on this alone is enough to push this sport onto our list.
Kabaddi
Unless you live in India, Bangladesh or other nearby Asian countries, you’ve likely never heard of Kabaddi. It’s a frighteningly entertaining sport that originated in Ancient India and involves two teams of 7 players on a small court. There’s an element of the classic schoolyard game “tag” here as you have to try and move into the opponent’s half and touch as many players as possible without being tackled.
You’re gripped already, I can tell.
It’s a sport unlike any other so you should check it out and give it a watch. You’ll find it on all betting sites because its popularity in India and Bangladesh is so vast. Fans love betting on it and it opens the door to a host of possible markets during every match.
Baseball
There are more sports we could’ve added to this list, but we’re ending with baseball. It’s the third American-dominant sport here, but in fairness, there’s also a massive baseball market in Japan. The two combine to give it a huge audience and it has slowly climbed up the ladder to be a hot betting prospect.
Betting on baseball is massively enjoyable because you can put wagers on so many things. This includes bets on individual players and how they’ll score, home run wagers, strikeout wagers, and much more.
We hope you enjoyed this list of the most prominent sports to bet on across the world. If you’re looking for more content today, please click here to check out the latest news.
