For avid sports fans, one of the toughest decisions you face involves figuring out the best sports to bet on, and how many. This, however, isn’t a difficult choice to make for individuals who consider themselves sports fans first and bettors second. Their approach is based entirely on betting on events that they’re knowledgeable on since this enhances their odds of success.

Whereas some people follow and understand lots of different sports, they may not necessarily want to bet on them all. On the other hand, some only follow a single sport but may want to expand their betting horizon.

So, what’s the middle ground? How much is “too many”? What are the best sports for betting in India? Well, we’ve got the answers for you. Here are the top three events for online sports betting in 2021 that you simply can’t go wrong with.

Top 3 Sports for Betting in India

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Cricket

IPL betting is, and will always be, popular among fans in India and other parts of the world. Despite the postponement of all the major leagues to later in the year, credible sources in the Board of Control for Cricket India (BCCI) have revealed that the IPL could be played in October/November. This depends, of course, on the state of the coronavirus pandemic by that time.

Several top online betting sites like Parimatch already have cricket betting odds available for the outright winner of the tournament, which if successful, will prove to be quite profitable when the time comes. That aside, some of the prematch markets you can bet on include:

First dismissal method
First over score
Highest opening partnership
Match betting
To make a century
To make half a century
Total run-outs
Tournament top scorer

If you would much rather watch the cricket game live, most bookmakers usually have a live streaming feature that allows you to catch all the thrilling cricket action as it happens in real-time. The popular in-play markets that you can also bet on include:

Fall of next wicket
Session runs
Win index

When betting on cricket, it is always better to wait until you get a little closer to the monumental T20 tournaments and Test Series. That way you can get a better assessment of the teams’ form to make an accurate forecast of the outcomes of the events.

Football

Football is no doubt the most-watched sporting event in the world. This is perhaps why many top bookmakers work hard to out-do each other when offering the best football odds for players looking to profit big on their bets. If you’re a player in India, betting on football is a foolproof way of making some big bucks.

There are two crucial things you need to consider when betting on football. You need to choose what to bet on and the types of bets to place in both the prematch and in-play markets. Here’s what you need to know.

What to Bet On

Soccer betting opportunities are available all-year-round. Despite this glaring fact, it is not realistic nor is it good practice to bet on every one of the several soccer competitions that take place.

The best thing to do would be to zone-in on a few leagues and learn everything you can about them to maximize your profit-earning potential. So, which are the best football events to bet on? Well, there isn’t any right or wrong answer to this question. It is all a matter of personal preference.

However, your chances for success are much higher if you focus on competitions that have a ton of information available in the public domain. That way you can keep up everything that’s happening in the football world with regards to the teams’ form and historical encounters they’ve had before. If you would much rather bet on obscure cup competitions in your region, then that’s an option too.

Football Competitions

The key thing to keep in mind here is – knowledge. If you consider yourself knowledgeable in a particular league, then that’s precisely where you need to be putting your money. Here are some of the soccer leagues you should consider betting on.

Major domestic leagues like the Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A, English Premier League, German Bundesliga, and the French Ligue 1. The term “domestic league” refers to an annual club level competition that is played in a particular country.
Other domestic leagues like the Indian Super League, I-League, Hero Super Cup, Primeira Liga, Chinese Super League, and several others across the world.

Club cup and league competitions like the FA Cup, League Cup, Coppa Italia, etc.
International Tournaments and Qualifiers like those for the FIFA World Cup. These include the UEFA European Championship, Africa Cup of Nations, FIFA Confederations Cup, AFC Asian Cup, etc.

Football Bet Types

Whether you’re betting in in-play markets as you’re live streaming the match, or in prematch markets, here are the popular types of football bets that you can wager on.

Asian handicap
Both teams to score
Correct score
Double chance
Draw no bet
First/Last goalscorer
Half time/Full-time result
Outright winner
Total goals or over/under bet
Special bets like – red card to be shown, the first team to score, goals in both halves, etc.

Most bookmakers in India support a myriad of payment options including Indian Rupees. The currency conversion rates, however, will usually be based on the prevailing world exchange rates when you deposit money or withdraw your winnings.

Horse Racing

Horse racing betting is a pretty straightforward affair. It essentially involves backing the horse you forecast to win the race. While this does appear to be pretty straightforward on paper, there are a couple of things you need to keep in mind to increase your chances of success.

First, you need to consider the various types of horse racing bets that exist. These can generally be classified into two: Straight bets and exotic wagers.

Straight betting involves picking the horse that you predict to come in first, second, or third place in the competition. Exotic bets, on the other hand, are slightly more complex and require that you place a bet on multiple horses using only a single bet. This makes them much harder to win compared to straight bets. But, on the flip side, they are a lot more rewarding!

Straight Bets

Here’s a breakdown of the different bet types that exist in this betting category.

Win – Bet on the horse you think will come in first place.
Place – Bet on the horse you believe will come in either first or second place.

Show – Bet on the horse you think will come in first, second, or third place.
Across the board – If your preferred horse comes in first, you win the Show, Place, and Win bets. If it comes second, you win the Show and Place wagers. If it comes third you win the Show bet only.
Win/Place or Place/Show – If your preferred horse comes in first, you win the Win and Place bets. If it comes in second, you win the Place and Show wagers. If it comes in third, you win the Show bet.

Exotic Bets

Here are the various types of bets that exist in this category.

Exacta – Wager on the specific horses that you predict will finish in first and second place respectively.
Quinella – Wager on the specific horses that you predict will finish in the top two positions in any order.
Trifecta – Wager on the specific horses that you predict will finish in first to third place respectively.
Superfecta – Wager on the specific horses that you predict will come in first to fourth place respectively.

Ensure that you check out the individual horse racing odds for each of them to pick the top favorites from the list when betting in both the prematch and in-play markets.

Legal Betting

Here’s the thing about legal betting in India. According to the country’s laws, gambling and betting are both illegal. However, no law explicitly prohibits online sports betting. This is mainly because any online sportsbook you’ll come across is licensed by offshore regulatory bodies that define the jurisdictions in which betting companies can operate.

So, if you’re a player in India wondering whether it is indeed legal to place a bet on sports in your country, it is 100% legal. Until a specific internet gambling law is enacted, you can back your favorite teams in the IPL 2023 or any other sporting event you love on trustworthy online betting sites.

Knowledge Is Power

When it comes to online sports betting, the secret to success lies in garnering as much knowledge and information as you can. Once you narrow down your chosen sports and research every facet of the upcoming games and the participating teams, you’re better poised to make accurate forecasts when betting.

So, comb through the latest game reports, current and historical stats, expert opinions, and sports news, to stay current on any factors that may influence the outcome of a game. Experiment with betting on different sports and stick to the ones that appear to be working in your favor. The sweet spot is no more than three different sports. Best of luck!