The Most Popular Sports for Betting in New Zealand
Sports betting has a long history in New Zealand, and locals enjoy every facet of placing bets on their teams and athletes. It’s only natural that many Kiwis continue to place bets on sporting events, given the country’s rich sporting heritage.
Below are a few sports that are the most popular to bet on in New Zealand.
Betting on Rugby
Rugby is a very popular sport in New Zealand. The nonstop activity in this team sport keeps spectators coming back for more. There are various forms of rugby available in New Zealand. Both rugby union and rugby league are types of sport. The game of rugby union is played at a leisurely pace and on a global scale. The domestic variety of rugby known as “rugby league” is a fast-paced contest.
Betting on Cricket
Cricket is a popular sport in both England and New Zealand. First-Class matches, the original format of Cricket games, took 5 days to complete. Unless an international match was scheduled, they were usually played on a local level.
In England in the 1960s, a new form of the game called Limited Overs Cricket emerged and came close to becoming an international standard. Whenever it rained out during an England vs. Australia match, the innings were switched. Cricket is still played widely even though matches last only a day.
The Cricket Board of England then introduced a new format for the sport known as Twenty20 in 2020. The goal was to cut down on the time it takes to play a game by half. This was done to ensure that each game still allowed for things like classes and job interviews. Shortly after the first T20 encounter took place in Auckland, it was played for the first time outside of New Zealand.
Betting on Tennis
Tennis betting is available in New Zealand, although it is not as common as wagering on other sports. The outcomes of individual sets, games and entire matches can all be bet on as Propositions. Handicapped gamblers are placed with a point spread in mind.
Due to the addition of a fourth Grand Slam tournament, Tennis has attracted a larger audience and generated more wagers. The Australian Open takes place every year in January, while the French Open follows at the end of May through the first week of June.
Tournament play at Wimbledon begins at the end of June and continues through the first week of July. The United States Open, the fourth Grand Slam tournament, is played in the United States during August and September.
Betting on Cycling
Cycling race betting remains a popular pastime for people all around the world. It’s reasonable to say that the people of New Zealand have settled into a routine of betting on the outcomes of cycling races. In terms of fame, the Tour de France, the Vuelta an Espana, and the Giro d’Italia are the three most famous races. After May, all three events culminate in September.
Due to the proximity of the races, it is exceedingly unlikely that the same rider will compete in all of them. For the races, you need to know which rider will be competing. This way you may prepare yourself for what to expect from them in terms of physical preparedness.
Cycling, mountain biking, and BMX are the three disciplines that compete at the Olympic level. Using these strategies, a rider can compete on unpaved roads and other treacherous courses.
Betting on the Horses
In the 1830s, New Zealand had its first horse race. Considering how long the sport has been around, its continued popularity is hardly shocking. Despite its widespread appeal, bookies were effectively barred from the industry after widespread regulation in the 19th century.
Thankfully, the restriction was finally abolished in 1950, opening up a plethora of markets for horse betting across New Zealand. New Zealanders can now continue their favourite pastime of betting on the winner, runner-up, and third-place finisher. Bets can also be placed without making any offers, a practice known as “betting without.” A reasonable win can be made with this sort of wagering, and there is no need to focus on betting favourites.
There are a lot of different types of bets you can make on horse racing, so there are a lot of accumulators to choose from. With these, you can put many bets on a single slip. It’s true that the size of the pot grows as more people win. It is important, though, to always make winning bets. This makes it more likely that something bad will happen.