The rapid ascension of sports betting contributed greatly to the popularity of sports around the world.
As such, online sports betting in widely-followed sports like betting sites football, basketball, boxing, tennis, etc. has also evolved into a booming business.
Despite the uncertainties due to the coronavirus pandemic, online sports betting has retained its allure to online sports enthusiasts who wager on their beloved teams and players.
Countries known for their online betting industry such as Singapore remained afloat as sports betting stayed close to the hearts of sports lovers.
Singapore’s online casinos are continuously attracting online sports betting enthusiasts even as the online gaming industry tries to remain above waters.
Sports events associated with sports like the World Cup in football, NBA in basketball, Wimbledon in tennis, etc. have stuck to the minds of online betting fans as well as gambling brands that sponsor teams and players alike.
So here are the top five global sporting events associated with sports betting:
FIFA World Cup (football)
Considered as the biggest stage in football, the FIFA World Cup is the pinnacle of glory in the sport, deemed as the most popular and most-followed in almost the majority of countries around the world.
The quadrennial event helped global betting in football to achieve over 70% of the world’s total gambling revenues.
During the 2018 World Cup in Russia, it is estimated that global bookmakers made £41.3 billion profit out of punters. In the United Kingdom alone, which surely saw a boost from England’s unlikely yet inspiring run to the semi-finals, betting increased by more than double the previous tournament, from £1 billion to £2.5 billion.
Super Bowl (American football)
Americans as well other fanatics around the world dig American football, especially when the Super Bowl is held.
The Super Bowl, the National Football League’s championship game, is considered by many as the world’s greatest annual sporting event, and the betting certainly reflects that.
As per estimates made by the American Gaming Association (AGA), $4.76 billion was wagered for the 2018 Super Bowl, a new record, as the Philadelphia Eagles overcame Tom Brady’s New England Patriots to take the championship.
This is only the figure for US bettors, and does not factor in an increasing global interest. Outside of horse racing, the Super Bowl is a single sporting event with a greater pull for the casual, and hardcore, sports bettor.
March Madness (US NCAA basketball)
March Madness is a 64-team elimination basketball tournament involving college athletes in the US.
Its formula to attract millions of bettors is brought about by the intensive knock-out battle royale competition in a highly-competitive sport with small margins for error with semi-professional competitors.
According to the American Gaming Association (AGA), more than $10 billion was wagered on the 2018 bracket, in which the Villanova Wildcats won over the Michigan Wolverines.
Grand National (Horse racing)
This event is also known as the National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree racecourse near Liverpool, England.
British bookmakers said the 2017 staging attracted 600 million viewers worldwide and more than £225 million in bets, making it the world’s biggest steeplechase competition.
Kentucky Derby (US horse racing)
The first of the coveted three legs of the US Triple Crown series, the Kentucky Derby is North America’s answer to the Grand National.
It is held in Churchill Downs, in Louisville, Kentucky and hosts comfortably over 150,000 spectators beside the racetrack.
It has an estimate of 20 million viewers on live television across America alone.
The entire race-card of the KD is allegedly worth over $200 million in US betting and which, unlike the Grand National figure, does not account for the volume of off-radar and/or illegal wagering taking place during the event.
