Nowadays, there are actually loads of betting options to check out online. Of course, most people stick to the most popular sports, like football, basketball, hockey, and tennis. However, the list is a lot longer than you may think. Online sportsbooks are notorious for giving players a wide range of markets. And we aren’t just talking about props for NFL here. No, we want to talk about sports you didn’t even know you could bet money on. In fact, some of them aren’t even actual sports. Are you interested in learning more? Join us as we cover them all and see if any of them pique your gambling interest.
e-Sports
The first thing that comes to mind here is e-sports. The market segment isn’t yet big enough to be classified as a real sport worldwide. People still need some time to get used to the idea of video games being treated the same as football. However, e-sports are already widely available in online sportsbooks. Several popular games have competitive tournaments with massive prizes. For example, the International for DOTA 2 awarded over $40 million in 2021. Indeed, this might give you an idea of how big a single tournament for an e-sports title can get.
With the large prize pool comes a large viewership, which in turn brings a considerable potential for betting. Much like in other sports, you have various teams and players for the big titles in e-sports. These teams have sponsorships and fans. So, when they compete in large tournaments, they attract plenty of potential bettors. So, it isn’t a surprise to see bookmakers offering betting lines for the games. The most popular e-sports titles are DOTA 2, League of Legends, Counter-Strike, Fortnite, Valorant, Overwatch, and StarCraft.
So, what can you bet on in e-sports? Well, you can bet on loads of things. Depending on the sportsbook and on the event, you can have over 50 markets. You can bet on the winner, the first team to score, the first team to take an objective, and more. Props and live betting for e-sports are trendy when it comes to major tournaments.
Entertainment
Undoubtedly, this is a betting option that not many players know about. Entertainment is often a category that online sportsbooks have on the list. Here, you can find TV game shows and award ceremonies. Yes, you can bet money on who you think will win the next Oscar. In fact, the Annual Academy Awards is one of the most popular picks in the entertainment betting category. You can usually find odds for prominent awards, like Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Director.
Other popular movies and TV awards for betting include the Golden Globes, Emmys, and BAFTA. For music awards, you can place bets on the Grammy Awards, MTV VMAs, and more. You can even bet on Miss America and Miss Universe.
The entertainment category will also have betting markets for popular TV game shows. These can depend on the country since locations can have different versions of the show. Top picks are survivor, X-Factor, American Idol, Eurovision, The Bachelor, The Voice, and various dancing shows. These give fans the chance to win some money while watching their favorite shows. More experienced viewers can spot some significant differences for the next week. Plus, it definitely makes it a lot more exciting watching the action knowing that you can win real money.
Movies
While betting markets for movies can fit in the entertainment category mentioned above, most sportsbooks will list them separately. Additionally, this is because movie betting is quite unusual and pretty rare, even online. However, you can find top bookmakers that have money lines on upcoming movies. Movie betting options can be about what happens in the film.
For example, if Dewey Riley dies in Scream 5, yes, being at -200 odds right now. You can even bet if Dwayne Johnson will return as Luke Hobbs in Fast N Furious 10. Right now, it seems that a return is less likely, sitting at +200 odds.
Politics
If politics weren’t complicated enough, now you can also add real money betting to the mix. While this is not available for every country, the giant online bookmakers will often have odds for major events. The presidential elections in the USA and the UK are generally the most popular. Political betting has been gaining some ground in the past few years. If you want to get in early on the action, the lines for the 2024 presidential election are already up. Of course, the lines will change as we get close to the actual event. It can pay off to bet on the long shots early since the odds are better, so the payout will be more significant.
We won’t get into too much detail since politics is often a sensitive subject. Just know that if you want to bet on big elections, bookmakers might have you covered.
Financials
Financial betting is not that widely known, but it is growing in popularity online. Moreover, this is a category for online betting where you can place wagers on currencies, stocks, commodities, and indices. Keep in mind that you are betting on the movement and not on the actual elements. For example, you can place a bet on the price of gold going up in the next hour. You can also bet on the value of USD compared to EUR and how it will change. You are not buying the gold or the currency but just betting on its movement. Furthermore, this is also the case when talking about indices and stocks for major companies. For instance, you can bet on Tesla stock going up or down until the end of the day.
It is worth pointing out that not many online sportsbooks offer financial betting. While the trend is growing, financials are still far behind the major sports when it comes to gambling. Consequently, this also means that you won’t be able to compare odds on many platforms to get the best price. Even so, financials are worth checking out if you are interested in the subject.
Virtual Sports
Not to be confused with e-sports, virtual sports represent an exciting market segment. Since they are easy to implement, you can now find virtual sports at most of the big gambling sites. They also offer a decent variety that often includes soccer, horse racing, basketball, and more.
Most betting options for virtual sports are live, but pre-match options are also available for a short period. Once the match starts, the page will usually show the action live. Although these aren’t real sports, the virtual representation is pretty good. Some events even have different camera angles and actual commentary. The result is a pretty similar experience to an actual sporting event but generally shorter.
How it works is that bookmakers set the teams and conditions for the simulation. Then, the match takes place in a virtual environment. The odds are set automatically, as they would be for a regular match. Bettors can make their selections in the same way and win cash as a result.
Virtual sports are most popular during the offseason for the major leagues. Since they run around the clock, you can always find some betting options on the best sites. Quite a few online casinos have virtual sports as extra alternatives. You can claim no deposit bonuses and various promotions to boost your bankroll on the platform. Therefore, this makes them even more popular, especially since some casino bonuses can be really profitable.
WWE Wrestling
Wrestling is a pretty popular sport, and so it is only standard for bookmakers to offer betting options. Nonetheless, WWE is not exactly a legitimate sports league with clear rules and regulations. It is more of a TV show based around wrestling. You have your larger-than-life characters, jaw-dropping twists, and sometimes unpredictable changes. So, while WWE isn’t a competitive sport, it is an entertaining show. It also saw a resurgence in recent years, making it perfect for online betting.
So, if you are a fan of WWE, this is something to consider. You can usually find WWE lines at premium bookmakers. Betting options generally include futures, money line odds, and plenty of props.
Lotteries
No, we don’t mean buying a lottery ticket online. Nevertheless, bookmakers can offer betting options for popular lottery draws, like the Euro Millions and the New York Lottery. There is a range of markets here, including a straight bet where users can select four numbers. Of course, more numbers mean a higher payout, but the odds are also longer.
Other exciting markets for lotto betting are for the first number. After that, you can try to predict it outright or go for the odd/even option. Hi,/Lo options are usually available for the first few numbers. Then there are total odds with different ranges to consider.
Keep in mind that the outcome excludes the bonus ball(s) for most lotto betting markets. For straight bets, however, most online sportsbooks will give you the option to include bonus ball(s).
Does it beat actually playing the lottery? Well, the odds are much better, even for straight bets. Plus, you can go for something with better odds and win something. The downside is that the prizes are also smaller. You won’t win the jackpots worth over $100 million that some of these lotteries have.
Alien Attack
Yes, that is correct. You can even bet on an alien attack happening in real life. Bookmakers have several markets for this. You can bet on which country will be attacked first, which celebrity will be abducted, and who will win the war. Right now, it seems that humans are the favorites at -150 odds, while aliens are at +110. Of course, there is also the question of whether anyone will even be around to cash out the bet. Also, note that these betting markets usually have a deadline. If the events don’t occur by the end of the provided period, all wagers are canceled. The bookmaker will require confirmation by NSA regarding the invaded country or abducted person before paying out.
Arm Wrestling
After talking about betting on an alien invasion, nothing really seems unbelievable anymore. Nevertheless, arm wrestling is still an unusual sport for gambling. It is actually more challenging to find online sportsbooks than aliens, but it is an option if you are interested. Only the big arm wrestling tournaments are available for betting, like the World Armwrestling League. There are also different categories to consider here, ranging from lightweight to heavyweight. Other matches are available for men and women, with big showdowns usually having particular matches.
Quidditch
Yes, that sport from the Harry Potter movies. Quidditch has actually become a fairly popular sport in the USA, or at least in some circles. US Quidditch (USQ) is the governing body that organizes various events and programs within the community. It was founded back in 2010 and now has around 3,500 players and 150 teams during a season. There are regional championships, and the winners advance to the nationals. Therefore, this is where most of the quidditch betting action takes place at the higher level.
A quick look at the USQ calendar will reveal that there are quite a few quidditch events. However, you will most likely not find a lot of quidditch markets at your local sportsbook. It really is a niche sport and betting on it is pretty tricky to find.
Surf
Let’s bring back the list of unusual sports to bet on with something a bit more familiar. Surfing is a reasonably big sport in some parts of the world. As a result, there are competitions where participants are scored based on their skill on the waves. The biggest surf competitions are usually available for betting on various online sportsbooks. The World Surf League (WSL) is the main attraction here.
You can already find lines for the WSL Men’s Championship. Gabriel Medina and John Florence are the two top surfers, each having +300 odds to take the title. As for the WLS Women’s Championship, Carissa Moore is the clear favorite at +200. While you can only find futures during the offseason, there are plenty of surf betting markets once the season starts.
