If you're a fan of online wagering, you've probably asked yourself at least once what the best sport to place bets on is. To get the most out of your wagers, many players also shop for bargains on the best sport betting sites.
So, what is the best sport to bet on?
As a bettor, you’ll usually choose to focus on certain sports for one or more reasons, such as:
- Value: If your main goal is to make a profit, then some sports offer more opportunities than others.
- Sporting interest: If you're a keen enthusiast of a sport (e.g., you tune in to it on TV, have a favorite player or club), then you might enjoy betting on those events – especially if you feel you have a better opportunity than other players.
- Event frequency: Some sports simply have more events than others, and that might influence where you place your betting activity.
- Gambling pleasure: Some events provide more markets, more variety, and other features (like high-odds betting) that maximize the excitement of sports gambling. Whether consciously or subconsciously, that too will play a part in your choice.
- The question is: what do you wish to derive from sports gambling?
Why Horse Racing Tops
Theoretically, since profitability is my major concern, I would suggest horse racing as the best sport to bet on.
Ironic as this may sound, I do not personally have a great interest in the game of horse racing. Indeed, I have attended only a few live races. I'm more interested in football and watch it religiously every weekend during the South African Premier League seasons and the English Premier League seasons.
However, from an investment viewpoint, horse racing has a number of things going for it compared to the majority of sports.
Benefits of Horse Racing Betting
- The odds can alter significantly, providing you with an opportunity to secure prices superior to the market closing line.
- Numerous bookmakers have Best Odds Guaranteed, safeguarding you against the last-minute price fluctuations.
- Happenings happen fast and furious (throughout the year), so there is always something in the pipeline.
- Money flows quickly, since the bets are settled within hours.
- Arbitrage and value betting are discussed much more frequently in horse racing markets.
But notice that I said that theoretically horse racing is the most advantageous sport. Let's drill further…
The Reality of Profitable Online Sports Betting
The truth is, bookmakers monitor horse racing markets (and any other profit-generating sport) very closely, precisely for the above reasons. So although it may have all the fundamentals that a serious punter would want, it's normally better to bet on a mix of less well-supported betting markets.
I’m thinking of the less obvious markets in football, basketball, hockey, tennis, and more. The ROI in these markets will almost certainly be lower than in horse racing, but part of professional betting is knowing when your accounts are likely to be restricted and finding ways to avoid that.
The Limitations of Niche Sports
That said, going after extremely obscure markets brings its own challenges:
- Liquidity is low, i.e., you can't get large stakes down.
- And come on: bookmakers will look at you funny if you're too sure of very low-probability events.
So, the "best" sport as a pro is simply the one that allows you to build the most expected value.
Key Questions to Ask Yourself
- Do you want to go big on high-payoff events, knowing restrictions may descend upon you quickly?
- Would you rather aim at less prominent sports with lower return on investment but a longer time frame before the restrictions?
- Or is there some other approach which keeps you under the radar for longer?
If you can manage to discover some avenue to profit consistently from a betting exchange, then the whole debate is changed.
Until then, however, you will have to experiment with your own approach to value betting.
A Final Note
I'm not able to give you a definite means of avoiding account restrictions, as not all bookmakers recognize professionals in the same manner – and there's no means of ascertaining if any effective strategy will still work in the future.