Sports betting continues to surge in popularity – especially as there are so many different events that offer
wagering opportunities. Whether you prefer to place your bets in a high street bookmakers, in the casino, or on online bookies or casinos that you found through a company that evaluates the best deals, getting your bets on for the biggest events makes them so much more exciting.
Here are four prime contenders for you to investigate:
FIFA World Cup
Football is one of the most popular sports in the world – and the World Cup brings the best national teams from around the globe onto centre stage once every four years.
The World Cup launched back in 1930 and has been contested every four years since – the only times the
competition did not take place was 1942 and 1946 because of World War II.
The tournament usually consists of 32 teams, who earn their place through qualification matches that take place throughout the preceding three years, but as of the next World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico, there will be 48 teams competing in the tournament proper.
Since the beginning of the tournament, nearly 100 years ago, a total of 80 different national teams have made it through to the tournament stage, but only a handful have won more than once. No team has done better than Brazil in the World Cup – they’ve lifted the coveted trophy five times, while Germany and Italy have won it four times each.
The next FIFA World Cup is due to take place in the summer of 2026, where current title holders Argentina will be looking to defend their 2022 title, lifting their total wins to four. Qualification is already under way in some continents, with Europe’s best joining in March 2025.
Tennis Grand Slams
While the term ‘Grand Slam’ usually means winning all four of the world’s most important tennis tournaments, it can also refer to the individual tournaments themselves.
There are four really big events in the tennis calendar where the biggest names come to compete – and they start with the Australian Open which takes place in mid-January. Played on a hard court, this is where the stars of the game come to show the world what they have got, and what they plan to bring through the rest of the tennis calendar.
In late May, the action moves to the clay courts of the French Open, which began back in 1891. The change of surface suits some players, while others find it much tougher – but that all adds to the excitement.
For many, the crowning jewel of the summer season is Wimbledon. The oldest of the Slams, Wimbledon takes place in the UK at the end of June through to early July on grass courts, and it’s the place to be seen by the brightest stars of the entertainment world as well as the tennis players themselves. Everyone who is anyone wants an invite to Centre Court!
Finally, the play moves to the US Open which takes place at Flushing Meadow in New York at the end of August. Play returns to the hard courts here, and by this point we know whether one of the players is able to achieve the coveted Grand Slam (which is also a popular bet for tennis wagering).
The Super Bowl
The Super Bowl used to be a very US-centric competition, focusing as it does on crowning the kings of the National Football League (NFL). However, the sheer flashiness and over-the-top pageantry of the occasion has garnered international attention, making the Super Bowl one of the most-watched events on the planet.
Played in February, the Super Bowl marks the culmination of the American Football season, and it is a game where so much more than the winner can be gambled upon.
While the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots have won the Super Bowl the most (with six titles each), there are 32 teams who have the potential to win it every year.
The reigning champions are Kansas City, who also won it in 2022, leaving quarterback Patrick Mahomes in line to guide his team towards the first ever Super Bowl hat-trick.
The Grand National
If you asked the Americans what the biggest race in the world is, they’d probably say the Kentucky Derby – but in Europe, and the UK in particular, it is the Grand National that brings the country to a standstill.
This is probably the only race on the planet that inspires those who never usually bet to place their one wager a year, and it is estimated that somewhere between 500-600 million people watch it in more than 140 countries.
The race is held at Aintree in Liverpool and was first run back in 1839. It’s a handicap steeplechase run over slightly more than 4¼ miles, with two full laps and a total of 30 daunting fences to negotiate, and it is the most valuable jumps race in the whole of Europe in terms of the prize purse and the amount that is wagered on the outcome.