The UK has a long and rich gambling history, in which betting on sports has always held a special place. Nowadays, Brits are also eager to spend their money wagering, and sports betting is a massive industry with million-pound budgets. Best betting sites in the UK offer wagering on all of these kinds of sports. Read this GBC Time article to know about the most popular sports UK gamblers bet on.
According to the Gambling Commission of the UK, only in June 2022, the betting industry generated £135.28 million in profits. Besides, there were over 4.78 million active bettors in the UK. Most of the bets (275.55 million) were placed on real-life sports, while 10 million bets were allocated at digital events. So, let us review some of the most popular sports brits love to bet on.
Football
The Besoccer website reports that between March 2021 and 2022, 43% of UK bettors wagered on football. The main reason for this is the well-developed football culture in Great Britain, with millions of fans gathering to watch Premier League matches, Euro, or World Cup. As seen from the UKGC statistics, Brits wager around £11.4 billion on football a year.
Horse racing
Perhaps, the most long-lived British tradition is attending horse racing events and betting on the outcome. Horse races have been in style since the Tudor period. In modern-day Britain, the most popular events are the Grand National and Cheltenham Festival. The ladder gathers around £500 million in bets annually.
Nowadays, most horse race bettors do so on online sportsbooks. UKGC informs that between 2020 and 2021, 68% of all wagers were placed online.
Tennis
While tennis is not among the most traditional sports in Britain, it takes third place by the number and sum of bets. Brits wager about £1.9 billion on tennis annually, with Wimbledon being the oldest and most prominent event in the UK. Each year, this prestigious tennis match attracts about £100k in bets.
Greyhound races
The other sport that has been in style for a long time is greyhound racing. Unlike all other sports on this list, however, dog races attract offline bets, as only 40% of all wagers were made with digital bookmakers. Together with horse racing, it is the only sport, betting which can be advertised on television.
While below 1% of bettors in the UK choose to wager on greyhound races, the sport generates about £1.7 billion in gambling revenue. And most of these bets come during English Greyhound Derby – the most significant dog racing event in the UK. With a prize pool of £175k, it is a huge event.
Cricket
Cricket is also one of the more traditional British sports. And while it may not seem like it, gambling on cricket has a long and notorious history. In the modern day, Brits spend about £800 million betting on cricket online.
As for the cricket events, the UK fans love to follow, there include:
- The Ashes;
- The ICC Cricket Cup;
- T20 World Cup.
Conclusion
Sports betting is a large and profitable industry in the UK, with people betting millions of pounds on different events. While traditional sports are holding a strong position, some of the newest forms of betting like wagering on cybersports come to prominence.
