Everyone around the world can play sports on land, and that’s why land-based sports are all you ever hear about. But let’s take out a minute to talk about water sports.
Only some selective regions are lucky enough to have direct access to the ocean. Naturally, these are also the regions that value water sports the most. Although human beings have enjoyed swimming and fishing in the sea for centuries, competitive water sports didn’t become mainstream until a couple of decades ago.
It’s hard to pinpoint the first water sport ever invented, but diving is often credited as one of the oldest sport. You might be shocked to learn that diving only became an acrobatic water sport in the early 19th century. In the grand scheme of history, and in relation to most land-based sports, this is a very recent development. After the popularity of diving, more water sports gradually emerged around the world. Once Ralph Samuelson invented water skiing in 1922, water sports became their own category. Today, the sports have their own international and domestic championships, events, and tournaments around the world.
How Are Water Sports Important for Sports Bettors?
Land-based sports like football and cricket are the most highly bet on sports in the world. The main reason for this is simply their accessibility and global appeal. People from many countries can’t participate in water sports due to their location and lack of access to the ocean. On the contrary, every country has access to barren land, which enables people around the world to participate in them. This makes it possible for sports bettors from all around the globe to bet on such sports, while a much smaller percentage of them are interested in water sports.
The smaller betting market for water sports isn’t any less lucrative! After all, if there’s a sport that has loyal fans, talented participants, and willing sponsors and spectators, then it’ll inevitably have a betting market. Betting markets continue to thrive in countries that have beaches and avenues for water sports, like Australia and the Philippines. Statistics show that over half a million Australian adults actively bet on sports, a large percentage of which are water sports. The local betting sites in these countries have been successfully operating for years, and have occasionally reported increasing revenues.
Ultimately, the water sports betting market is much smaller than the one for land-based sports. Despite that, it continues to attract and fascinate millions of sports bettors. A significant portion of the traffic on local betting sites offering water sports betting comes from sports bettors outside of these countries. This just goes to show that you don’t have to be living in a country that’s big on water sports to bet on them.
Best Water Sports to Bet On
Now that you understand why betting on water sports can actually be just as lucrative, let’s discuss the sports you should be looking out for.
1. Sailing
Have you ever watched any sailing, boating, or yachting races? Yes, they do happen!
Sailing is a very popular water sport around the world, but particularly in the USA. America has various sports events based on sailing and hundreds of sports bettors tune in for them every year. This sport is fun to bet on since it follows a race format most of the time. Participant sailors race against their competitors, with the first one to brave the rough waves and winds all the way to the finish line winning the race.
Tournaments like the Cowes Week, Volvo Ocean Race, and the America’s Cup are the most prestigious and anticipated regattas in the world. The Barcolana Regatta, which has over 2,500 participing boats and 16,000 sailors, is considered the largest sailing race in the world.
2. Jet Skiing
If you’ve ever been on vacation to a beachy country or city, you’ve likely dabbled in, or at least witnessed, some jet skiing magic. Jet skiing is another hugely popular water sport. Millions of sports bettors around the world tune in for the most prestigious Jet Ski tournaments like the Jet Ski World Series, P1 AquaX, and IJSBA Jet Ski World Finals. The sport isn’t just thrilling to watch because it’s essentially a water-based version of dirt bike motorsports, but also lucrative to bet on due to its fast pace.
3. Swimming
You’re familiar with swimming, but are you familiar with competitive swimming? Every aquatic country has its own domestic swimming championships, but even those that don’t have beaches do too. What makes swimming different than some other popular water sports is the fact that it can be practiced in artificial bodies of water, too. While you can’t really Jet Ski in swimming pools, you can still swim in them. That’s why swimming is a massively popular water sport, even in countries without any beaches. Sports bettors from across various tropical regions love to bet on competitive swimming events.
4. Diving
Who doesn’t like watching incredibly talented divers at the Summer Olympics? Diving is arguably the easiest water sport to bet on. The evaluation of diving techniques isn’t something novice sports bettors will be able to understand right away. However, you can simply just bet on divers with incredible track records and past statistics.
There are a lot of events you can watch if you’re interested in betting on diving. Since these tournaments are also quite popular, most of the top betting sites also let you bet on them.
5. Water Polo
Everyone can enjoy water polo, but playing it competitively in an actual sports tournament can be nerve-wracking. That’s why water polo is an intense sport to watch and bet on. It’s a great sport to bet on because of the competitive betting options it presents, as opposed to some other water sports that only follow a one-player format.
In water polo, the two opposing teams go head-to-head, giving sports bettors the opportunity to bet on multiple lucrative markets. If you’re completely unfamiliar with water sports betting, water polo would be a great sport to start with because of its simplicity!
Popular Water Sports Tournaments
Just like how nearly every land-based sport has its own championships and tournaments in different countries, nearly every water sport does, too. There are too many water sports events to list here, but every sports bettor should definitely know about the biggest ones.
Summer Olympics
Unless you’ve been living under a rock your whole life, you don’t need an introduction to the Olympics. Although there are now two formats of the world-renowned Olympics, i.e. the summer games and the winter games, the former is actually the original one. The original form of the Summer Olympics has been around since the late 1890s.
Thanks to the Greeks, the world was introduced to this incredible sports event that attracts global attention from sports fans, curious spectators, and sports bettors alike. Three of the aforementioned water sports that sports bettors love (swimming, diving, and water polo) are played in the Summer Olympics. The next installment of the games will be in 2024, so make sure you find the best betting sites to bet on them!
FINA World Aquatics Championships
The FINA World Aquatics Championships are known for being the most prestigious water sports event after the Summer Olympics. This event first started in 1973, and now comes around every two years. This event actually features a much wider range of water sports than the Summer Olympics. Sports bettors can watch and wager on sports like swimming, diving, high diving, water polo, and other artistic and acrobatic forms of swimming at the event.
If you’ve never watched or bet on this event before, then you’re in luck! The 2022 FINA World Championships are coming back in May 2022, and it’s being hosted by Japan this time. You can find the sports odds for this event on the world’s biggest betting sites.
How to Bet on Water Sports?
Everything mentioned up until this point was intended to educate the uninitiated about water sports betting. Now, it’s time to learn how to actually bet on water sports through online betting sites. The following steps are very simple to follow, but make sure you do your own research and due diligence at every step.
Step 1: Choose a Betting Site
The most important thing you need in order to bet on water sports online is a reliable platform to do it on. You should take some time out of your schedule to scour the internet for good betting sites. Since water sports have relatively niche betting markets, you might have trouble finding betting sites that let you place water sport bets. However, online gambling portals like Betting Sites Ranking can help you navigate the best local betting sites in your country in a much easier way.
You should take time to find and read reviews for the top betting sites in your region. Make sure to thoroughly go through the sites’ features, offers, licenses, terms & conditions, and any other important factors you need to know.
Step 2: Verify and Register
Once you’ve shortlisted a few betting sites you think would be reliable, take out some time to verify them before you register on any of them. Keep in mind that some betting sites can retain your identification information once you provide it to them even if you delete your account. If this bothers you, make sure to opt for a betting site that doesn’t require verification or personal identification.
Go to official sources to verify the site’s claims of licensing and authorization. You can usually find a license number on legitimate betting sites. You can search this license number on Google and see if the site is actually legally licensed. When you’re satisfied with a site’s claims of legitimacy, you can start the signup process. This process is typically simple, so you shouldn’t have any trouble registering for an account on the betting site.
Step 3: Fund the Account
When you’re completing the signup process, try to check if the site is offering any welcome or first-deposit bonuses. If you’d like to claim this bonus, make sure it’s activated when you make your first deposit. You’ll need to make a direct transaction with the betting site to make a deposit. So, make sure to use safe payment methods.
Many online gamblers use credit or debit cards, but there’s a growing market of cryptocurrency users, too. You can look for the best crypto betting sites if you’d like to use that payment method.
Step 4: Place a Bet
Finally, you can start placing bets on your favorite water sports. Most of the top betting sites that support water sport betting will also offer top daily bets and odds for the latest sports events. You can easily access these betting odds before you make a bet. If you’re unfamiliar with how to read betting odds, don’t feel bad! Everyone starts somewhere, and you can start by reading the beginner blogs written by the online betting experts at Betting Sites Ranking.
Once you think you have a good shot at winning a bet, place it on your respective betting site. If you end up winning the bet, the earnings should be reimbursed into your account within a day. If they’re not, make sure to recheck the betting site’s terms to see if you missed anything. Most of the best betting sites have incredible customer support through live chats, so don’t hesitate to ask for help if you ever need it.
Good luck and happy gambling!
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