51% of US Sports Bettors Choose Football Over Other Sports

After the Supreme Court’s ruling related to sports betting, the United States became one of the world’s largest markets. Many states opened their doors to online sports betting and plenty of others are in the process of doing so. Needless to say, this greatly affects the number of people who decide to bet on sports online.

With that said, Nostrabet.com reported the results from a recent study, where only 30% of the people involved said that they bet on sports. Interestingly, 51% out of those 30% mentioned that they chose American football over any other sport. “These stats may surprise some, but if you know anything about the sports industry in the US, you probably saw it coming. American football has always been one of the most popular sports in the country, especially among older sports fans”, said Veselin from NB.

But why do most Americans choose football over any other sport when it comes to betting, and what are the other options? Let’s find these answers right now.

American Football – 51%

Considering that more than half of US bettors who took part in this particular survey said they chose American Football to bet on, there should be a reason for it. We have analyzed all of the leading bookmakers in the US and found the following specifics about this sport:

• Most sports betting operators will usually have more options for American football than other sports. Punters will find matches from the NCAAF, the NFL, and more.
• Another advantage of American Football is the markets. Their number will depend on the specific operator, but all markets are easy to understand. They include options like Spread, Money Line, Total, and more. You can also find different “futures”, markets for specific players, and more.
• When talking about American Football, we also need to mention the Super Bowl. The latter is the biggest sports event in the US that attracts millions of fans and many bettors. Many stats indicate that the Americans wager more than $1.39B on this event alone.

Basketball – 38%

It’s probably not surprising that basketball is the second-most popular sport for American bettors, with 38%. Because of the many opportunities, basketball is among the go-to options for online bettors in almost all countries. It’s true that the majority of US bettors will only choose to bet on the NBA, but there are many other leagues to pick from.

• Basketball is one of the sports that bookies usually pay more attention to, so you can expect way more options than usual. Starting with the markets, betting on basketball will let you wager on the winner of the match, Over/Under (in terms of points), threes made, rebounds, assists, and much more. 
• A lot of the big bookies will also offer individual markets for some of the more popular basketball players.
• People who wager on basketball can also often find special features and a variety of bonuses.

Baseball – 25%

It seems like one-fourth of Americans who said they bet on sports choose baseball as their go-to option. Baseball is, again, one of those sports that has a huge following in the country. Unlike football and basketball, however, most international bookies usually have fewer markets for baseball.

• US bettors who pick some of the local operators will usually find a decent number of markets. However, most international sports betting sites will probably only have Futures, such as “To Win Outright’, “Number 1 Seed”, and so on.
• Even though the MLB dominates in terms of betting, US punters often have access to other leagues. For example, many bookmakers offer the Japanese NPB and the Korean KBO. It’s also possible to find the College World Series.
• In an attempt to boost baseball’s popularity, some bookies will have different short-term bonuses. You may find odds boosts, cashback deals, or even ACCA proposals, where people get extra winnings if they wager on more selections.

Soccer – 25%

Surprisingly, soccer has the same number of American bettors as baseball, at least according to the survey. 25% of people answered that they chose this sport, but we think this number will increase significantly in the future.

• We all know that soccer isn’t the most popular sport in America. Nevertheless, no one can deny that it is in a league of its own when it comes to betting.
• Even people who do not like soccer in the US bet on this sport because it offers substantially more options than any other sport. There are always tons of markets, good odds, different bonuses, and even unique features. 
• Soccer is also one of the few sports where people can always find ongoing events to punt on. Americans will often choose to bet on the MLS, but those with more experience will focus on the big European competitions.

Soccer will almost certainly grow in popularity in the country, especially after Messi’s arrival in the MLS. This, plus the fact that this is the leading sport for betting, will make it the go-to option in the future.

Boxing – 18%

Something that surprised us is that 18% of American bettors said they bet on boxing. It is true that every big boxing match receives tons of bets, but if you compare this sport to the rest, you will see that there are hardly any events. In fact, there are usually just a few big boxing matches in a year, meaning that those who focus on this sport are not really active bettors.

• Betting on boxing has advantages because the markets for this sport usually have really high odds. This is true for almost all combat sports, but boxing takes it to another level. 
• Since boxing is the most popular fighting sport, bookies will almost always have more markets for it than for something else. 
• When there is a big boxing match, American bookies will always provide different bonuses. It is possible to find better odds, cashback deals, and a variety of other alternatives.

Tennis – 11%

Usually, tennis is among the top 3 most popular sports for betting in most parts of the world. According to the stats, however, this is not the case among American bettors because only 11% of them stated they bet on tennis.

• Tennis is one of the sports where you will almost always find options to bet on. It may not be as big as soccer or basketball, but bookmakers usually have more than enough alternatives.
• Something that not a lot of bettors may be aware of is that bookies usually have live streams for most tennis matches. Bettors often underestimate the importance of this feature, but it makes live betting a lot more fun and enjoyable.
• Tennis is one of the best sports for live betting. There are multiple short-term markets with high odds, which you can access once you go to the live betting category.

As for the tennis competitions that Americans bet on, most will choose the big events in their country, such as the US Open. Others, however, will focus on all Grand Slam competitions, including the big tournaments from the WTA and the ATP.

Ice Hockey – 11%

Ice hockey is the last sport on the list and has the same percentage of bettors as tennis (11%). This also surprised us a lot because ice hockey has always been one of America’s most popular sports, especially in some states. Strangely, it seems like most bettors simply choose to bet on other sports.

• Those who decide to focus on ice hockey will find many different options for the NHL. Fortunately, this is not the only league that people can bet on because bookies provide a lot more solutions. It’s possible to find things like the Sweden HockeyAllsvenskan, the Danish Metal Ligaen, the France Ligue Magnus, PWHL, Czechia 1. Liga, and more.
• In terms of markets, ice hockey will give you access to all of the standard options like Money Line, Total, and Line. It’s also possible to find many different individual markets for the Goalscorer, Puck Line, and more.

Those who do not place bets

Only 30% of Americans said they bet on sports, which means that the rest are not interested in it. However, this may change soon because the growing legalization of sports betting and the fact that more sites have decided to start operating there will affect the total number of people who bet on sports there.

Considering the sports betting revenue predictions in the US for the next couple of years, it’s just a matter of time before the sports mentioned here become even more popular. With that said, some surveys show that a lot of people consider sports betting to be addictive, and some are even in favor of a ban. Consequently, we would not be surprised to see more strict regulations in the next couple of years.