One can bet on literally anything these days. But that’s all common knowledge. For this list, we are looking at six weirdest sports you can bet on in 2018.
Chess
It might seem weird, but betting on chess is quite popular. If you love this intellectual sport, make sure to check out some of the betting markets on offer. You can bet on all the major chess events, such as Grand Chess Tour, the Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting and of course, the World Chess Championship. There is a lot of betting options too: you can bet on who will win, but also which opening move will be used, who will be the first to lose a piece, how many moves will a player make, and much more!
Sumo Wrestling
Sumo wrestling is a traditional and highly respected sport in Japan. To become ‘yokozuna’, i.e. to reach the highest rank in sumo wrestling, is a great honour in Japan. For this reason, betting on sumo wrestling is not officially allowed in Japan, where punters can legally bet on four sports only: horse racing, motorboats, cycling and motorcycle races. Nevertheless, bettors from around the world can place their bets on sumo wrestling online and in Japan, and several scandals over illegal sumo betting were reported in recent years.
Badminton
Although extremely popular in many countries, badminton is simply an unusual choice for betting. The fact that bookmakers now offer a variety of betting markets for badminton really shows that online betting is on the rise. When you think about it, it makes perfect sense. It is an Olympic sport since 1992 and requires a great level of skill when played professionally. You can bet on the outright winner, but bookmakers also offer over and under betting odds for the final score. The sport is currently dominated by the Chinese, so the players from China could be your best betting option.
Hurling
Here is a sport you might have never heard of until now (unless you are Irish) that is nevertheless an increasingly popular betting choice. Hurling is a traditional Irish sport with many followers all over the world. It is an ancient team game played since prehistoric times (really) and its main objective is to hit a small ball called a sliotar with a wooden stick called a hurley between the opponent’s goalposts. Players can also carry the sliotar in hand for four steps, kick it or slap it with an open hand. The game is incredibly fun to watch and extremely challenging, which is probably why more and more people enjoy betting on it.
Curling
Curling is probably the weirdest and the most obscure game on this list. Its rules are notoriously difficult and it is hard to master the terminology. It is recommended only for punters who really like to experiment. The game, which has been a Winter Olympics sport since 1998, is played on ice and is similar to bowls or boules. The main objective is to slide heavy rocks across ice as close as possible to a designated mark called a house. It is played by two teams of four players. Each team has 8 rocks, each player throws two and they are taking turns after two throws. A game usually consists of 10 stages, called ends, and the team that accumulates the highest score wins the game.
Biathlon
Another unusual Olympic sport, biathlon is a combination of rifle shooting and cross-country skiing. The sport is believed to have originated in Scandinavia and is especially popular in Norway, Russia, and Sweden. Currently, you can bet on who will win the World Cup, both for men’s and women’s competition.
