Sports betting is a business of astronomical size. It is estimated that this industry alone has an income of nearly $1 trillion per year, which is larger than what even most countries in the world have. Therefore, it could be useful to know what sporting events are popular for you to place your bets and increase your chances of winning.
Whether you want to play your favorite Super Bowl lines, or you just want to play a handicap on an upcoming NBA match, it is important to know what events have the biggest betting volumes. Keep reading to find out more!
FIFA World Cup
A sport that is definitely the most popular and that pulls in the most money in football, without a doubt. Some experts estimate that over 70% of annual income in betting is thanks to football, and you will usually find that football matches are the ones that offer the most betting possibilities.
The world cup occurs every four years and it is the ultimate tournament for this sport. It provides an enormous amount of betting opportunities, even though it lasts for only about a month. During this month, betting providers notice a huge increase in bets, and we also notice an increase in bonuses and better odds.
Super Bowl
The National Football League is, without a doubt, the king on the American scene. Almost half of all sports bets placed are on the NFL. Considering that the Super Bowl is the most popular sports event each year, it is only natural that it also attracts most betting opportunities.
With each year, we notice record-breaking wagers at all sportsbooks across the country. Usually, Super Bowl bets exceed the range of $150 million in almost every state in the country. These figures are official and legal, so we may even assume that the total numbers are even larger. According to the AGA, the total bets during the Super Bowl exceed $4 billion each year.
March Madness
One of the highlights of bettors and sports fans is definitely this NCAA tournament. Almost 70 teams compete through seven single-elimination rounds in order to be crowned as the national champion. The tournament lasts for about a month and we notice a huge increase in bets during this time.
The experts predict that about $10 billion are wagered during the time of this tournament each year. This is, as stated below, even more than what we see with the Super Bowl. Men’s basketball is very popular in the country, and this is probably the reason why there are so many bets placed in this time period.
Kentucky Derby
One of the longest-running sports events, but also one of the most important racing events is definitely the Kentucky Derby. The event is always held at the same place – Churchill Downs racetrack, and it always starts on the first Saturday of May. It attracts more than 150,000 spectators each year, and this counts only those who are present on the racetrack.
NBC reports that more than 16 million viewers watched the 144th Kentucky Derby. Churchill Downs also reports that more than $200 million has been placed in bets during the same time. About $140 million in wagers were pulled in the main race alone. These numbers are really huge considering that the tournament is about horse racing, a sport that is not as popular as some team sports.
Grand National
The Grand National is considered to be the world’s most challenging horse race event. It keeps with the equestrian theme and is considered to be the original British extravaganza. The riders compete during two laps on a 4-mile racetrack that includes 30 jumps.
Among the others, this event is also regularly visited by the members of the Royal Family. It draws more than 600 million viewers each year, and these are not only betting pros and seasoned horse racing enthusiasts.
The figures during this event are groundbreaking. More than $400 million bets were placed in the 2017 Grand National, which is more than what Kentucky Derby had. If you truly want to try to win some money, definitely check out Grand National this year!
