On The Table Read, “the best entertainment magazine in the UK“, the annual estimates of gambling in the UK is nearly £20 billion in gross total. Discover the most popular sports UK players bet on.

Which Sports Are Most Popular To Bet On In The Uk

Sports is more than just a recreational activity in the UK. It is part of everyday life. Certain sports are tied to the history of the people and elicit passionate emotions from participants. While some have an age long history with the people, others are relatively recently developed.

But whether old or new, it is no gainsaying the popularity these sports enjoy in the UK. In fact, the fun goes beyond mere participation and followership. The commercial aspect of these sporting activities have also burgeoned in the past few years.

Long before now, people have placed bets on sports events such as boxing matches, horse races etc. With the growth of technology and introduction of online betting, the sports betting market has grown exponentially.

Today, the annual estimates of gambling yield in the UK is close to £20 billion in gross total. It is worth noting that sports betting contributes the highest to this astronomical figure. Now, we examine the sports that are popular among bettors in the UK. You can bet on these sports if you head over to Free Bets Expert, who compare the best betting sites to bet on sports.

Football

Football is the most popular sport in the UK. Virtually everyone in the UK is a supporter of one football club or the other. Fans watch and stream games, with a large percentage of these supporters being active bettors on results of football matches.

The markets offered by football are also the widest as there are football competitions all year long with the English Premier League, Championship, League One, Conference Leagues, Welsh League, Scottish Premier League being the most popular of these competitions.

Tennis

Although, lacking a history as long as horse racing, football or cricket, tennis is the second most bet-on sport in the UK. It  has gained popularity in the UK in recent years and has attracted punters to wager on tennis matches.

The sport alone yields billions of pounds annually in total sports betting. Tennis season runs throughout the calendar year with major tournaments like the Grand Slams and minor ones like the ATP tours. These provide an always available market for bettors.

Horse Racing

Horse racing is a traditional sport in the UK and the history of betting on horses is as old as the sport itself. Although it enjoys less popularity in terms of TV viewings, the fact is that people actually prefer to bet on horses than watch them!

The many horse racing events that run year long provide available market bettors. The major UK horse racing events like the annual Cheltenham Festival record hundreds of millions of pounds on bets.

Cricket

Football may be the most popular sport in the UK, but Cricket is considered the national sport. The sport still enjoys wide followership and participation from professional players, amateurs and the public. Competitions like the T20 Leagues and the ECB Competitions provide available markets for bettors to wager on and win huge money.

Rugby Union

There are many rugby union fans throughout the UK. Like football, it is an action-packed sport and the passionate atmosphere helps to drive betting interest.  Followers of rugby unions enjoy placing bets on ordinary league fixtures, international ties, and major tournaments like the Six Nations.

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