Which sports are most commonly bet on in America?
Americans are sports enthusiasts and this is plain to see by just examining the number of sports-related bets they place each year. The sheer number of slips played is growing year after year, with 2023 being a record-setting time: between the 1st of January and the 31st of December, bettors wagered 119.84 billion dollars on sports betting. The percentile rise from the previous year is about 27.5%. This data comes from the American Gaming Association’s Commercial Revenue Tracker. The sportsbooks’ total revenue was 10.92 billion two years ago, 44.5% more than in 2022. The number represents the amount of money the bookmakers retain once all the bets have been settled. These numbers speak pretty clearly: sports betting is on the rise in the US.
One of the reasons for this growth is the continuous incentives and bonuses that gaming platforms offer to online users, such as those on the list of the best according to Oddschecker in the US, which provide them with a substantial budget to place their bets. Oftentimes, this credit is allowed for free or by requesting a small deposit. Oddschecker offers a lot of bonuses and promotions to new and existing customers, helping them start in their betting journey or minimising their losses whenever they place losing bets.
The reasons for this sudden growth
Probably, the reasons for this growth are tied to the decisions taken in Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska and Ohio. These States didn’t allow legal betting until 2022 but, in 2023, they chose to become operational and contributed with a gain of 1.49 billion dollars. By federal law, each State may independently decide on how to norm sports betting. In recent times, more and more States are allowing this activity, since it has become quite easy to bet even when the bettor lives in districts where it is prohibited. It is as simple as a drive beyond the border or some VPN usage from a personal computer.
Nowadays, people can bet on almost everything, because the bookmakers offer the chance to guess whatever the bettor wants in politics, entertainment, trends and so on, but only sports betting is rising this much. It is probably due to a growing interest in sports and competitions, channeled by the media, especially television and internet, where it is easy to find platforms focused on a single sport, such as football, and capable to give the visitor news, statistics and updates in a matter of seconds, exploiting the power of artificial intelligence or the deep knowledge of statistics experts.
On which sports do Americans put their money?
In the US, people love to bet on the most popular sports played in their country. It’s not surprising that bettors choose to place wagers on American football and basketball. It doesn’t mean that other sports are neglected, but the difference is tangible. The Premier League, NHL and motorsports are quite popular across the 50 States, but people prefer betting on the NFL and NBA. With the MLB being close but behind professional leagues and the NCAA circuit, for both football and basketball.
Not by chance, the periods where people bet more are in spring (when March Madness hits and the NBA wraps up its season) and in winter (when the NFL starts its playoffs). Data journalists report that 51% of bets placed in the States are on football, while 38% are on basketball. Being these the most popular sports in the country, the figures are not that surprising. Baseball and soccer share an equal share of the betting (around 25% of the total) as well as tennis and ice hockey do (11% each). Fighting is quite popular, with a solid 18% of bets placed on boxing and a lower percentile of bets placed on wrestling and MMA.