Which sports are most popular with sports gambling fans

Here at gambling.ie we are of course interested in all forms of gambling, particularly online gambling which nowadays includes both casino gambling and sports gambling. We were therefore drawn to a recent newspaper article which was discussing the allegations of match fixing in the top echelons of tennis. We do not intend to comment on these allegations but the article also included a detailed assessment of the total sports gambling spend in the UK in 2015, and what percentage of that spend was wagered on individual sports. It is true that these figures do not have any direct relevance to the total spend on sports gambling in Ireland, but it is likely that the split between individual sports is very similar. Compiled by Global Betting and Gaming Consultants these figures suggest that an estimated £2,7bn was wagered by sports gambling fans in the UK in 2015, with gambling on horse racing by far the biggest proportion of that figure at an estimated £1bn. It has been generally recognised over many years that gambling on horse racing is probably also the most popular sports gambling activity in Ireland. It is probably also not that much of a shock to see that not far behind gambling on horse racing comes football gambling at an estimated £772m. Again that is likely to be a very similar percentage figure in Ireland. The next most popular sports gambling activity in the UK in 2015 was apparently gambling on greyhound racing at £259m, also not that surprising and again probably true in Ireland. Statistics like this are of course always no more than estimates but they are probably a fair assessment of the popularity of gambling on individual sports so here at gambling.ie we have decided to share them with our readers.