4 of the Fastest-Growing Sports with Betting Markets
When games like soccer were invented in the 1800s, they took a while to spread. The people who were already enjoying the game couldn’t make YouTube channels or even make a call to a friend in another town to tell them about this incredible sport.
Today, though, information can spread so quickly that new and exciting sports can find their way to people on the other side of the world in a matter of minutes.
This has meant some sports that didn’t even exist 10-20 years ago now have full industries around them and millions of players. They also have betting markets, allowing people to wager on the players they think are going to win.
eSports
eSports encapsulates virtually all competitive tournaments for video games. This includes famous games like Rainbow Six, DOTA 2, CS: GO, and Valorant.
If you head to https://thunderpick.io/en/esports you will see just how many events are happening every single week in the world of eSports. One of the most appealing things about this type of betting is that it is usually very easy to watch streams of the events and bet on what you think is going to happen, all from the comfort of your own home.
There are even eSports based around real sports, so while some people are looking for betting tips for the weekend’s football others will be looking into the form of the top FIFA players to see if they will be winning an online tournament.
It is widely believed that the industry will grow from around USD 1.44 billion in 2022 up to a value of roughly 5.48 billion by the end of the decade.
MMA
MMA has been popular for a while. UFC is arguably the main driving force in turning MMA into a global phenomenon. Their first event took place back in 1993 in Denver, Colorado.
While there are different forms of MMA and companies promoting the events, UFC is the best known. It has given us some huge stars, and though some people might have seen the golden era for growth as a decade or so ago, the stats tell us otherwise.
A recent study described the sport as the fastest-growing in the world when it comes to earnings. Over the last five years, the percentage growth is higher than NFL, MLB, and many other sports. Per event, the best UFC fighters are paid better on average than NBA stars, the difference is that there are fewer events and a much longer recovery time in MMA fights.
It is not uncommon for these fights to be viewed by millions worldwide now. Huge superstars help to drive this sport in terms of its viewing figures, and it may well continue to grow in the future.
Betting markets for UFC include round betting as well as outright betting on the fight, so there are options for those interested.
Pickleball
Pickleball feels like a mash-up of other sports. It has been around since the 1960s, but it has taken off in recent years.
According to Pickleheads, there are over 10,000 places in the United States where people can now play the sport. There is a Professional Pickleball Association, and the sport is played for some respectable prizes. In recent years, some sportsbooks have also started to offer coverage of pickleball, including markets on who will win individual matches as well as whole tournaments.
The sport has some way to go until it catches up with the viewership of things like MMA and eSports but there is no denying the rate at which the popularity is soaring.
Kabaddi
Kabaddi is a very popular sport in India and parts of Asia, but it has made a breakthrough in recent years with more and more people playing in other parts of the world.
The game has two 20-minute halves and a break in the middle. It consists of different “raids” which involve a single player trying to tag the defending team's players with their hands or feet. Once they’ve done this they must return to their half of the court, but if they are tackled, they don’t score any points.
Also, when returning to their half the player must chant “Kabaddi, Kabaddi” to prove they are doing so in one breath. It takes a bit of watching to fully understand, but it is a thrilling sport that involves a lot of agility and athleticism. It is also quite tense and fascinating to watch. The Pro Kabaddi league saw over 200 million viewers in 2022 and many countries in Europe now have teams competing for the European Kabaddi Championship.
Largely because of its huge viewership, there are many different places to bet on the sport and numerous markets including points markets and outright for championships and individual matchups.
The Bottom Line
We never know when a sport is going to suddenly gain immense popularity and even become an option with the sportsbooks.
While eSports is relatively new, games like Kabaddi have been around for thousands of years in some form and have only exploded in recent times. The sports on this list are certainly all thrilling and fascinating in their ways.
