The United States has a long and storied history with sports. Some of the biggest sports today originate in the USA. Off the top of the head, one could mention basketball, which has recently become the second most popular sport in the world, having over 2 billion fans around the globe.
Of course, where there are sports, there is betting. The practice of placing wagers on our favorite competitions is nothing new. People have been doing it since the ancient world. However, with the advent of online betting, it is now more popular than ever.
When thinking about the USA, certain sports instantly come to mind. But, the question is, are these the sports that attract the most betting fans? That is what we are here to find out. In this article, we take a look at the most popular sports to bet on in the USA.
Football
Football (known across the world as American football) is on the absolute top of the list. Though baseball is often called “America’s favorite pastime,” football is the game that has won the nation’s heart. According to the bookies, the sport has also won plenty of Americans’ wallets.
The National Football League received, approximately $35 million in betting revenue in 2024 alone. If the trends for betting online bear anything out, then it wouldn’t be surprising if that number went up in the future. However, it isn’t just the NFL that benefits from betting.
College football is also incredibly big in the United States. In fact, many fans prefer the college games, claiming that the students, while operating on a lower level, show a lot more passion than the pros. Of course, that passion attracts a lot of bettors, who want to support their local college.
Baseball
We brought up America’s favorite pastime before. And though football has taken the reigns from baseball as the country’s most popular sport, that doesn’t mean that baseball has lost any traction. Fields are still attracting thousands of visitors, and millions are watching the MLB across the country.
Unlike football, baseball has also attained an international audience. The game is particularly popular in South Korea, Japan, and the United Kingdom. However, America still maintains the record for betting on baseball. In 2023, an astonishing $93 million went into baseball betting, making it even more popular than football.
Basketball
Finally, we have to touch on basketball, which may not be the most popular of the three sports in the USA, but is definitely the most popular worldwide. With over 2 billion fans watching, basketball has truly become a global success.
In the USA, the National Basketball Association is the third largest sport organization, after the MLB and the NFL. With that in mind, nobody should find it shocking that basketball gets so many fans betting on the outcome of games. Like with football, college basketball is also an incredibly popular betting sport. It especially grows in popularity during the month of March, when the infamous March Madness competition takes place. Even today, March Madness is one of the most popular college sporting events in the country.
