Sports Betting in the United Kingdom

Sports betting has been around for as long as sports have. The first recorded evidence of bets being placed on sporting events dates back to Ancient Greece, when the Greeks would bet on activities during the Olympic Games. However, there’s a good chance that it went on long before that as humans have been playing organised spectator sports for millennia, from wrestling to running, throwing, and other basic tests of skill, technique, and raw power. Sports betting has been a popular pastime in the United Kingdom since the medieval age. For a time, it was forbidden by religious leaders and driven underground. But it continued to thrive away from the prying eyes of religious leaders and eventually became one of the country’s biggest sectors, helped in no small part by sports like horse racing, which has been closely associated with sports betting since the beginning. The online revolution has made sports betting more accessible than ever before, taking it from betting shops and casinos to homes and mobile devices around the country. Here at Hopa you can bet on a huge range of sports from all over the world and you can do so wherever you have a secure internet connection.

Sports betting is huge in the United Kingdom and is closely associated with all types of sport. Statistics suggest that as many as 97% of people who watch horse racing place at least one bet, a figure that drops to around 75% for football and motor racing. The technology has never been better, television and online coverage has never been greater, and as a result bettors can now place more bets on a wider range of sports than ever before—from Total Goal bets on football and Total Points bets on Rugby to Outright bets on Formula 1, Tennis, Golf, and much more. All of these sports and more are available right here, just choose your game, find your market, and place your bet. But remember to gamble responsibly! Some of the biggest events for UK bettors include the FIFA World Cup, a time when every football fan perks up, pays attention and prays that their team is on form and at least makes it beyond the group stage! There are also surges in activity during the Champions League, when the best in England, Scotland, Spain, France, German, and other major European nations compete for the greatest prize in club football.

It’s no surprise that football is the most popular sport for bettors in the United Kingdom, with many opting for simple Match Result markets as well as Accumulators and Outright bets. These bets increase on game days, especially at the beginning of the Premier League season, and there is also an increase in bets for televised games, most notably when they are contested between fierce rivals, such as Man Utd vs Man City or Arsenal vs Tottenham. Horse racing, the so-called “sport of kings”, is also hugely popular for bettors in the United Kingdom. It’s perhaps not as popular as it once was, but the online age has given birth to greater betting opportunities. You don’t need to spend all day at your local betting shop or pay a visit to the track. You can bet from the comfort of your home and watch live streams or televised races in real-time. Tennis and Golf are also very popular betting markets in the UK, with many people choosing to bet on Outright markets. And don’t forget about Boxing! Boxing seems to be popular with all sports fans, many of whom tune-in during the big fights and place their bets on their favourite fighters.