For people who are engaging in sports betting, football, basketball, or tennis are the first things that come to their mind. While there are lesser-known sports that are surprisingly popular with bettors, offering unexpected and entertaining to bet on as well. These are not mainstream sports, but they have thriving betting markets that attract a following. In this article, we’ll explore three such sports: handball, snooker, and rugby.
1. Handball: Fast-Paced Action and Thrills
This fast sport has increasingly grown popular in Europe. Both Denmark and Norway are pretty well established in the sport. To give an example, Denmark’s men’s team has won the last three World Championships (2019, 2021, 2023) on the men’s side. Norway’s women’s team meanwhile has been an absolute gun, winning the title 6 from the previous 10 World Championships.
Despite the presence of clear favorites, handball is known for its unpredictability. Even though Norway’s women were favorites in the 2023 World Championship proved that anything can happen. In the final, France managed to break Norway’s winning streak with a stunning upset, catching many bettors by surprise. Going into the match, France had relatively good odds considering the expectation going in that Norway was going to win. Those who bet on France got a big return, as the French squad defied the odds to claim the gold.
With its fast and continually swinging momentum, handball is never boring; it’s all unpredictable, always seems to be so and the thrill of bettors always has something nice. With many platforms like 1xbet betting only growing the handball betting market also grows and there are more opportunities to enjoy the sport.
2. Snooker: A Game of Precision and Strategy
Snooker is another exciting and unpredictable sport that even professionals and betting fanatics enjoy. For example, O’Sullivan was the clear favorite going into the 2023 World Championship as they had won the title the previous year, and are arguably one of the most successful players in terms of overall eleven wins on the professional tour. However, the big-name snooker was almost totally dominated by perhaps less famous, but excellent, Belgian Luca Brecel, who outplayed top names, en route to victory.
Another great example was in 2015 when Stuart Bingham was given little chance of becoming World Champion, but he beat Shaun Murphy 18-14 in the final. This epic victory has made him the oldest player to win the World Championship title for the first time, at 38. These sorts of things are possible to bet on in snooker as it’s almost impossible to know who will win, even if there’s not a top favorite not winning the grand prize.
There is so much that can go wrong with snooker betting that you can forecast who will win a tournament or a game within a snooker tournament, or frame count on which match will go, the number of century breaks a player will make in a snooker tournament, etc.
3. Rugby: A Sport of Physicality and Strategy
Rugby is another thrilling sport that draws attention not only from fans but also from bettors looking for excitement. Especially, rugby is popular in countries such as New Zealand, and South Africa. As with handball and snooker, rugby is also known for its frequent unexpected outcomes, which appeals to bettors who enjoy taking risks and landing huge payouts.
For instance, at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, England was a heavy favorite which was reflected, especially after beating the All Blacks (New Zealand) in the semi-final. But British rugby was stunned when South Africa, strongly fancied to lose to England, picked up the World Cup in a shock 15-6 final defeat. Many had England to take the trophy and South Africa’s odds were relatively high. Betters on South Africa were handsomely rewarded, the Springboks defying the odds and pulling off a close win.
There are multiple ways to wager on rugby, match winner, point spread, and try scorer. The sport can be particularly favorable to predict because there are many ways for bettors to guess it. With so many betting platforms out there offering a lot of betting choices, rugby fans can now bet on rugby in fun new ways, and potentially win lots of cash by betting on both favorite and underdogs.
Make the Right Decision
While football and basketball have always been amongst the most popular sports for sports betting, handball, snooker, and rugby are equally interesting options for bettors in search of excitement, strategy, and a hint of the unexpected. A dedicated fan base and betting opportunities exist if you want to bet on sports not usually bet on. As sports betting continues to evolve, 1xbet will continue to provide the world with a never-ending variety of betting options in these niche sports for bettors and fans alike to enjoy even more.
If you are not chasing trends and like more extravagant options in betting, then snooker, handball, and rugby are the best options. You can also consider another interesting fast-growing niche, namely the 1xbet crash game, which is suitable for those who love no less risk and want to try something new and interesting.