Sports betting has been one of the world’s favorite activities for as long as we’ve been gathering together to play and watch sports. Some sports have long histories of being the most popular betting sports, such as horse racing.
Other sports have moments where they’re the most popular betting sport but like all fads, they die out. For instance, blood sports like bear baiting and cockfighting used to be incredibly popular, but thankfully they’ve lost most of their following due to how cruel they were.
In this article, we’ll take a walk through the most popular sports to bet on throughout history. Most of these you’ll be expecting to see, but a few just might surprise you!
Chariot Racing
Chariot racing may have been the first popular betting sport. Historical records indicate that chariot racing has existed since at least the 13th century BCE. It began in Ancient Greece and then spread to the Roman and Byzantine empires. Much like Formula 1, drivers became celebrities and fans generally chose one race team to support over the years.
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Betting on chariot races is reported from the earliest days of chariot racing but reached its peak during the heyday of the Roman Empire. Most betting was between spectators, instead of through a bookmaker or any sort of organized system. This makes it impossible to find any figures for how much was wagered. Archeologists have even found curse tablets buried near racing grounds, which were an extreme way to try to sway the outcome of a race. It looks like betting superstitions have a long history!
While the last chariot races were held around the 10th century CE, its legacy lives on. Competitive carriage driving and harness racing both have dedicated audiences who keep the sports alive.
Horse Racing
It shouldn’t surprise anyone to find horse racing on this list. Betting on horse racing has been popular around the world for centuries. At many times in history, when gambling was banned or severely limited, horse racing was the only sport where betting was allowed. This is true for most of the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and many others. Flat track racing is the most common form of horse racing.
The most betted race in the USA is the Kentucky Derby. The race attracts both regular bettors and casual bettors who just want to join in on the excitement. One of the reasons why the Kentucky Derby attracts more attention than the other two Triple Crown Races — Preakness and Belmont — has to do with all the fanfare and traditions associated with it. Even people with little interest in horse racing can easily get wrapped up in the history, glamour, food, and drinks that accompany the races.
Football
Football isn’t just America’s favorite sport, it’s also the country’s favorite sport to bet on. The Super Bowl is the biggest betting event of the year. Super Bowl LVIII attracted more bettors than ever before, with an early report finding that Americans were expected to wager $23bn on the event. Considering that sports betting has only been legal in most states for a few years, this is really impressive.
One of the reasons that football dominates sports betting in the US is due to the legacy of fantasy football. In the years when sports betting was illegal due to the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (1992-2018), fantasy football gave fans a way to enjoy wagering in a legal form.
When online sports betting was recently legalized for much of the country, the most successful sportsbooks were those that already had an established reputation in the fantasy sports world. The popularity of football betting is clear to see in the promotions that sportsbooks offer. Sportsbooks offer special bonus promo codes on NFL bets because there will always be a great audience for these bets.
Boxing
Boxing has long been one of the sports most closely associated with betting, oftentimes with darker undertones. Boxing is an intense and exciting sport with a massive international following. Betting on boxing has been a major feature of the sport since the earliest days, most likely starting in the 17th century.
Betting on boxing is so exciting partly because it’s an individual sport and it feels like it should be easier to back a winner. Betting on boxing during the 1920s-60s was a dangerous game as the Mafia had a hand in most fights and the odds or the fights themselves were often rigged. Even legendary fighters like Jack Dempsey, Sugar Ray Robinson, and Sonny Liston couldn’t fully escape Mafia involvement in their fights, even when they refused to throw them.
The popularity of boxing had begun to wane since the Mike Tyson era. It has been difficult for any fighter to compete with both his oversized personality and his ability in the ring. After watching a Tyson fight, nearly every other heavyweight looks slower and clumsier. In the last few years, however, the bizarre phenomenon of social media star boxing has reinvigorated interest among younger audiences. While the quality of any of these fights is up for debate, the impact on the sport is undeniable.
Cricket
American markets haven’t quite caught on to cricket yet, but in the rest of the world, it’s one of the biggest betting sports, as well as one of the most popular sports in general. The audience for cricket includes Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, the West Indies, and many smaller countries across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Oceania.
Cricket will probably never become popular in the US. It’s too similar to baseball and Americans just don’t have the patience for a sporting event that can last for up to five days. Maybe Twenty20 cricket, a shorter form that is more intensive, could break through. Either way, cricket is likely to remain one of the most popular sports in the world, with both International Test matches and Indian Premier League games attracting huge numbers of bettors.
