The gambling industry has an almost unfathomable amount of different markets you can bet on – from placing a bet on the overall outcome of a game to more niche and nuanced bets that happen within a game, the world is pretty much your oyster for what you can place a bet on.
But there are some absolutely wild sports you can probably haven’t heard of before that you can bet on. Whilst you may be able to find a guide to patent betting and other types of betting – it might be harder to find one for these!
In at number 7…
Rodeos
You’ve probably heard of rodeos before, it’s the sport of Cowboys and bulls. Unbeknown to plenty of people though is the huge popularity the sport has in the Western states of the US and there are several different disciplines including roping calves, steer wrestling and bronco.
The most common version you’ll find you’re able to bet on is bull riding, with the goal of the sport to stay on the bull for at least 8 seconds. If the rider gets thrown off, the bull wins.
You can bet on whether you think the rider or the bull will win or the rider and quite a few states have online betting apps to bet on the events.
Games of Cornhole
Whilst you may have heard of rodeo, you probably haven’t heard of Cornhole. The game involves literally what the name suggests – corn kernels and a board with different holes in it. The whole aim of the game is to throw a 450 gram bad of corn into a hole in the board that’s a whopping 27ft away.
The game has garnered such a following that is has its own official league that was formed in 2015 and in 2021 the event was officially sponsored by DraftKings. It’s on there that you can place bets on the major events.
Drone Racing
Drones really took off a few years a go and this led to these machines having their own sporting events – drone racing.
Played with hand held transmitters, the drones have a camera attached which allows them to pilot the drones around courses. The first ever event happened in 2011 and since then the sport has exploded, with DraftKings again getting in on the action.
Whilst the sport can be a bit costly to get into at the minute, the prices are coming down which is seeing more people enter into the competitions. The betting markets are mostly the same as horse racing, with you able to place a wager on who you think will win.
Jai Alai
A sport that’s popular in countries with a Spanish influence, it’s essentially a version of squash. Instead of a racquet, players use what’s known as a cesta which is a wicker basket.
Whilst it did have a quite a big following in certain parts of America, popularity of the sport has shrunk over the years. But many sports betting platforms have started adding Jai Alai markets to their platform in order to engage more customers, so we could see a resurgence of the game.
Curling
Whilst curling isn’t the most out there sport on this list, it’s not that popular in countries or states without a heavy winter sports scene. Players have to direct a 20+kg stone along a 150 ft sheet of ice, whilst using brushes to help direct the stone.
Markets really open up during the winter Olympics and winter games season, but outside of these events many markets close as the sport loses interest. You can still find markets in locations where the game has some popularity though, such as Norway, Scotland and Canada.
kabaddi
Whilst Kabaddi is relatively unknown, it’s a hugely popular sport in India – so popular, it’s only behind cricket in television viewership. It’s also one of the oldest sports in the world, with a rich history spanning over 4 Millenia!
The sport saw a minor popularity boost around the globe when it was introduced to the Olympics back in 1936, but the popularity quickly dwindled. It is making a mainstream comeback though as more betting operators set up shop in India.
You can find Kabaddi at select betting sites, but those that have it have a huge range of markets – some people find the markets similar to soccer.
Chess
We won’t go into the whole debate over whether chess is a sport or a hobby, but the International Olympic committee officially classes it as a sport due to the physical exertion caused by thinking.
The hardest part with betting on chess is that many countries don’t even class it as a sport – such as Sweden, Ireland and the united Kingdom,, so you won’t find it available for betting on.
The most common market you’ll find on sports books that have it listed will be tournament winners, but you can find markets for individual chess players in the bigger tournaments such as the World Championships.