The betting craze is catching on in the US after the legalization of sports betting in many states. Since 2018, sports fans in over 24 states can bet on their favorite sports teams, and players. Homegrown American sports like baseball, American football, baseball and ice hockey are among the most popular sports for betting. If you are a fan of these sports, winningedgeinvestments has all the best sports tips for you to try.
American Football
Football is the most popular sport by fanbase and revenues, so it is natural that it attracts the most bets when the season is on. There are 32 teams playing 256 games in the NFL season running from September to December.
You can bet on straight money line bets on the team that will win. There are handicap bets that wager on the difference in winning or losing points. But sportsbooks have also introduced exotic prop bets, for example, the number of yards a specific player will run.
The Super Bowl is the biggest sports betting event in the world. Bookies take bets worth $100 million on that single day. Sportsbooks offer more betting markets for this match than in other football matches.
Basketball
Basketball is the second most popular sport, especially in major cities. The NBA regular season runs from October to April, climaxing in the national conference finals. College basketball is also wildly popular, and the NBA drafts many players from the college teams.
The college NCAA climax is the 2-weeks long tournament in March dubbed March Madness. It surpasses the NBA in betting volume.
Spread bets are the most popular in basketball rather than straight winner/loser bets. A spread bet wagers that team A will beat team B by a certain margin. These bets are popular because many basketball teams are widely known for their strengths, so winner/loser bets carry very low odds.
Soccer
The world’s most popular sport is also growing a big fan base in the US. It is the third most followed sport after football and basketball. There are about 24 million following the season running from April to November.
Soccer has the largest variety of betting markets. The most popular betting markets are straight 1×2, Over/Under, Double Chance and Handicaps.
US soccer fans love their teams but they also follow games from the rest of the world, especially Europe. Soccer bets are growing in popularity as more European sportsbooks set up shop in the US. More sports betting fans also realize the wide variety of opportunities in soccer bets.
Tennis
Sports betting fans who discover tennis betting love it a lot. The betting is simple because there is no draw. Tennis ranking also makes it easy to predict the outcome. Tennis runs the year round because they are different organizing bodies, each with an international circuit. The biggest US tennis event is the US Open held annually.
You can bet on the match loser or winner, the winner of each set, the number of sets, and the winner of a tournament. There are other betting markets depending on the type of match (single or double). Tennis betting has grown in popularity because it doesn’t have many factors influencing the match outcome, unlike team sports like basketball.
Baseball
As the oldest sport in the US, baseball has a big following in almost every town, even in rural areas. The MLB regular season runs from April to October with around 2,400 games. This is not counting the Little league that has hundreds of teams around the country. But sportsbooks offer betting markets for the MLB league only.
Money line bets are the most popular in baseball. You predict the outright winner or loser. There are no draws. But you can also do handicap bets. You can also bet on match events like the number of runs. With over 2,400 games, the betting markets are plenty each weekend when the season is on.
Ice Hockey
Ice hockey is a sport unique to the US and Canada, where it has very loyal fans. There are 30 teams in the North American Hockey League, with each team playing 82 games in a season. The sport is popular for its fast action, where speed and power matter most.
Ice hockey is also a money line game because goals are few and it is difficult to predict outright winners. You can also bet on league or tournament winners. Handicap bets are also popular when unequally matched teams are playing.
The US betting scene will see very exciting times ahead as even more states legalize sports betting. It means more games, betting markets, and lots of fun.