The Sporting Events Americans Love to Bet: Top to Bottom
June 26, 2014
Even though you can wager on any game, there are certain sporting events that Americans love to wager on more than others. These events draw big crowds at Las Vegas sportsbooks. Online sportsbooks see massive revenue spikes when these events roll around.
Super Bowl
The most heavily wagered on sporting event in the world is the Super Bowl. That shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. The Super Bowl is as much about the parties and gambling as it is about the game. Everyone has a Super Bowl party in America, and even worldwide. Las Vegas brings in hundreds of millions of dollars each year in gambling revenue on Super Bowl Sunday. It’s a great day to have some fun, throw some money down on different prop bets, and watch one team get crowned champion of the National Football League.
NCAA Tournament
March Madness is one amazing time of year. It is America’s second most popular event to wager on. The NCAA Tournament is a 68-team one-and-done tournament that brings in big bucks to the sportsbooks each round, but especially the first weekend. Fans don’t just wager on the NCAA Tournament at the sportsbooks. They also get in on office pools or NCAA Tournament pools with friends.
World Cup
Don’t laugh! Soccer is becoming more and more popular in America. Okay, well, maybe not THAT popular. But during World Cup time, Americans actually do like to get in on the action. Soccer is popular in America once every 4 years. Right now, you can log onto your online sportsbook and place a wager on the US – or another country – to win. Soccer is never more popular in this country than during World Cup time.
World Series
Baseball will always be popular in America. The World Series is the culmination of a long baseball season. Even though the World Series takes place in the middle of football season, fans still line up to place wagers on this historic event. Part of the excitement of betting on the World Series is knowing if you lose your bet on Game 1, you have at least 3 more games to make it back.
NBA Finals
The Finals are a best-of-seven series between the Eastern and Western Conference champions of the NBA. The winner is crowned Kings of the NBA. Like baseball, part of the excitement is knowing you don’t have to win Game 1. You can lose a couple of games as long as you win more games than you lose in the series. So you’re not forced to put all your eggs in one basket.
Triple Crown Races
The Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes form the Triple Crown of Horse Racing. On three Saturday’s from early May to early June, gamblers make their way to the nearest racetrack to place a bet on one or more horses. The Triple Crown is the most coveted honor in horse racing, but no horse has accomplished this feat since 1979. Still, the excitement of these horse races brings massive crowds to sportsbooks and racetracks all over the United States.
PGA Tour Major Events
Golf doesn’t bring in big gambling revenue except on Major weekends. There are 4 of them each year – Master’s, US Open, British Open, PGA Championship. Casual golf fans spend countless hours these weekends watching golf. In fact, they probably spend more time these 4 weekends watching golf than the rest of the year combined.
