Sports betting is, without a doubt, one of the most popular pastimes among sports fans. Bookies generate millions of dollars from sports-related betting. It certainly won’t surprise many to learn that the sports betting industry is so successful. After all, football has 3 billion fans worldwide, with basketball following close behind with over 2 billion. With that many fans, many of them are bound to be bettors.
Online Sportsbooks
In the 1990s, online sportsbooks first started appearing. However, it is only recently that they’ve reached the popularity that they enjoy today. Site for online betting create great odds, cover a wide variety of sports, and come up with some fantastic bonuses.
But, that isn’t where it ends. Despite the name, online sportsbooks often don’t stop at just sports. They might offer bets and wagers on a variety of different forms of entertainment. In this article, we would like to take a look at the most popular alternatives to sports betting in 2023.
Online Casinos
The first one is the most obvious. Many of you who are fans of sports betting will already know that a lot of sportsbooks double as online casinos. If you click the “online casino” option, you will be transferred to a sister site, where instead of sports you can wager on roulette, slots, poker, blackjack, and more.
Online casinos, like sportsbooks, first appeared in the 1990s. Unlike sports betting, though, online casinos have not been fully embraced by most governments. Still, at the places where it is legal, you can often find sportsbooks and casinos under the same website.
Professional Wrestling
The WWE is the biggest organization in professional wrestling today. If you are a fan, you should be aware that many sportsbooks cover WWE events with the same professionalism that they dedicate to sports like football, boxing, or tennis.
But, how can you bet on Pro Wrestling, when the outcome is already determined? It is simple, bookies just take different things into account. Instead of just athleticism, they look at dramatic tension, wrestler popularity, and story progression. They then base the odds on all of these factors, and fans can place bets on who they think will win the belt.
Reality TV
In that same vein, reality TV is a pretty popular option for bettors. Competitive reality shows like Big Brother’s House, Survivor, or American Idol all have an incredibly huge audience, and many of these people might want to place a bet.
Just like with pro wrestling, sportsbooks take into account things like the popularity of the people involved, their competence in the field in which they are competing, etc., and then make odds for you to bet on. So, if you are a reality TV fan, maybe you will get something out of betting on your favorite show.
e-Sports
Recently, competitive gaming has really come to the forefront of pop culture. Pro gamers join teams and compete in games like League of Legends, Defenders of the Ancients, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. With e-Sports leagues becoming more popular than ever, it is no surprise that online sportsbooks have begun covering competitive gaming a lot more frequently.
