The Top 10 Most Popular Sports to Bet on in the UK

Sports fans in the UK love to have a bet, with many sites offering dozens of different options.

Some of them are a lot more popular to bet on than others, however. While online bookmakers might have chess markets available, they are unlikely to be particularly busy with users.

If you’re looking for somewhere to place a bet on the top 10 most popular sports in the UK, we recommend comparing the best new UK betting sites on BettingLounge. You will find a wide range of legal betting sites offering 30+ sports & 100’s of betting markets.

• Football

There is no doubting the most popular sport to bet on in the UK, with football clear at the top.

Many sports fans in this country place football bets regularly and the good news is that a lot of online bookmakers have great betting bonuses available for their football markets as a result.

While the Premier League, Football League and the Champions League are some of the most popular competitions to bet on, football matches from all over the world are available too.

Some of the biggest and best betting sites in the UK even have some live football streams too, which can be ideal for any fans of the beautiful game who are planning to bet live in-play.

• Horse racing

The sport of kings has very close links with the world of gambling, so it is no surprise at all to see that horse racing is still up there in the list of the most popular sports in the UK to bet on.

UK and Irish horse races tend to be the most popular to bet on here, but a lot of betting sites offer the option to bet on from further afield, such as France, South Africa and the US.

Live streaming is also common for horse racing betting sites in the UK, while a lot of betting bonuses tend to be up for grabs for the sport of kings as well, boosting the value of prices.

As an example, many sites these days offer best odds guaranteed on horse racing bets.

• Tennis

Some of the most popular sports to bet on in the UK are particularly well-suited to live in-play betting and tennis, with its breaks between points, games and sets, fits into this category.

While the most tennis bets tend to be placed during major events such as Wimbledon, the US Open, the French Open and the Australian Open, tennis markets run virtually all year round.

Tennis is a particularly good sport to bet on in the UK for those who love to analyse statistics. 

• Rugby union

Still one of the most popular UK sports, rugby union betting is listed among the biggest on the majority of online betting sites here.

Global events like the Rugby World Cup are when the interest in rugby union betting is at its highest, but when the Six Nations is on in the spring there are plenty of rugby bets placed too. Domestic competitions also attract some interest for people who like to bet on rugby union.

• Rugby league

While rugby union probably has the edge in terms of popularity across the UK as a whole, in certain areas of the country it is certainly rugby league that is on top.

Competitions such as the Super League are huge from a betting perspective. It is no surprise that the tournament has a betting sponsor, with Betfred lending its name to the tournament.

• Golf

As is the case with tennis, golf betting tends to be particularly popular around the sport’s majors.

Events such as the Masters, the Ryder Cup, the Open and so on are some of the most popular golf tournaments to bet on, though the sport is currently in flux as a result of the new LIV tour.

Whether or not LIV golf tournaments become as popular to bet on as the likes of the Masters remains to be seen, but the future of golf is certainly going to be interesting to keep an eye on.

• Cricket

Cricket is another of the most popular sports in the UK to bet on that suits live in-play wagers.

As there is a pause between each ball, as well as at the end of an over, cricket provides plenty of opportunities for those who want to try to find a winning wager while a match is being played.

New formats such as Twenty20 and The Hundred have breathed new life into cricket of late.

• Boxing

There is nothing quite like a big fight night at the weekend and having a bet on the headline bout is a key part of the appeal for a lot of boxing fans in the UK.

Boxers such as Anthony Joshua tend to attract a lot of interest when it comes to boxing betting in the UK, but those who are heavily into the sport can place wagers on bouts around the world.

• US sports

Despite the time difference sometimes making it hard to follow all the live action, for many people in the UK it is US sports that are some of the most popular to bet on.

American football continues to enjoy a growing profile in the UK as a result of a few NFL games being played in London each season, so American football betting will continue to keep rising.

Basketball, baseball and even ice hockey are some of the other top US sports that a lot of people who use UK betting sites will look to have the occasional flutter on here as well.

• Darts

While critics may pour scorn on the idea that darts is even a sport, it has a huge fan base already and the exploits of stars like Farron Sherrock have kept darts in the media.

Darts betting is extremely popular these days around events such as the World Championship, while Premier League Darts is another of the most popular darts events to bet on as well.

Like with tennis and cricket, darts betting is another sport that suits live in-play betting very well.

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