There are a lot of sports throughout the world, from worldwide sports with massive followings to regional sports where only a couple of hundred or so compete.
So what weird sports can you actually bet on at the main betting sites? We could go super deep and take a look at sports that most people have not heard of, but for now, we will go with sports that most of you might have heard of which has a low following or is very regionalized.
With that said, let’s get into 5 weird sports you can actually bet on.
Trotting
What the heck is Trotting you ask? Mainly a sport that takes place in the USA, Canada, France, and some other nations. It does have a large enough following but it’s kind of one of those sports that you first see and almost don’t believe it’s real.
It’s like looking at the Chariot races throughout the Roman Empire, only in a more civilized and traditional horse racing-like manner.
Trotting involves a horse pulling a two-wheeled vehicle, with the driver sitting in the saddle at the back of the vehicle, or sulky, as its slang is known.
Betting on trotting is exactly like betting on a horse race at the main offshore betting sites, and you can find similar markets between both sports.
Wrestling
As we know, wrestling is one of the most popular forms of entertainment, not shying away from the limelight, Wrestling is a big thing, not only at the top level such as WWE etc, but also regionally throughout the USA, Mexico, and other parts of the world.
So why does wrestling make this list? Well, mainly because it’s a form of entertainment that more often than not has a predetermined outcome. Essentially, it’s not a real sport and therefore you will be entering into a betting market that always has the outcome determined.
Now this isn’t necessarily a “Bad” thing if you’re just doing it recreationally for a bit of fun. Maybe you might like to bet your favorite wrestler to win a Royal Rumble or a big match etc, but one thing’s for sure, wrestling should not be a sport to consider betting seriously.
Floorball
Maybe this is a sport you think hmm I have no idea what floorball is, but just maybe you do know when we explain a little further. Floorball is a sport I played in school but I never knew that “Floorball” was the name of this sport at the time.
So what is floorball? It’s essentially indoor hockey only safer. Floorball has light plastic sticks and a plastic ball with holes in it to slow it down. It’s essentially a safer version of indoor or field hockey and is played mainly in the USA, Canada, and Sweden.
The top-rated sportsbooks were offering odds on the Euro Floorball Tour when we checked for the markets, with similar lines to the NHL such as -1.5, moneyline, etc, with the only difference being the totals, which were set slightly higher around the 9/10 goals range.
Gaelic Sports
The main sport in Ireland is predominantly Gaelic Games, and most people have never heard of this sport, as it’s not taken off outside of Ireland.
There are mainly localized clubs and teams outside of Ireland in Australia, the UK, and some eastern cities in the USA (mostly set up and played by ex-pats), the majority of teams are on the Island of Ireland, and although it’s a regionalized sport, it does have a strong betting market within the country.
Gaelic Games refers to two sports that are both uniquely Irish. Hurling, which is the fastest ball sport on grass in the world and has been compared to Ice Hockey for its quick style of play. Hurling is essentially a tennis-sized ball made of leather and played with sticks, whilst the other Gaelic game is referred to in Ireland as Football.
Football involves a soccer-style-sized ball, but players can kick the ball out of their hands. Both sports use three points for a goal and one point for an over-the-bar shot.
The Gaelic sports betting market is so strong that Bet365 offers odds on it and you can place bets on very localized matches that might have less than 200/400 in attendance.
Greyhound Racing
This is a sport your either going to have heard of, or else be like huh? What even is a greyhound some people might ask.
Greyhound racing is essentially a form of dog racing and its very popular in the UK and Ireland. It makes up a large chunk of the betting market and its very popular within these countries, but outside of the UK and Ireland its mostly only available in Australia, New Zealand and four US states (as of 2023 only 2 active tracks remain open in the US, both in West Virginia).
Greyhounds are a specialized breed of dog which were made to pursue game by sight rather than smell, they have super speed and are incredibly long and skinny with long tails. Greyhounds start off each race in a trap box and a fake Rabbit is let loose around the track which the Greyhounds chase down. The betting markets are very similar to that of Horse racing.
