Top 10 Most Anticipated Sports Events of the Year for Betting

Wagering on the 2025 sporting calendar will be busy around the world. The amount of money worldwide will surpass the 500 billion dollar mark. There will be a lot of betting at the tournaments, and the wagers will be on the outcomes of the matches, on sportspersons, and during the matches through in-play betting. This year will be a lot of women’s tournaments because the world will be divided into regional competitions, and there will be a lot of football and cricket in Asia.

Betting in 2025

Regulatory changes have happened all over the world, and especially in Southeast Asia, and people’s access to events has opened. Sports betting also has other technological frameworks like live-streaming, which has made betting more accurate and odds assessment in real-time. The ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup will be in India this year. They incorporated betting online with the cricket World Cup. This year, there will be 32 teams for the first time, and this will create more futures and more than 50 match odds. Also, the UEFA Champions League final will be at the Allianz Arena. The expected reach will surpass 450 million viewers, and this will increase betting amounts on cricket as well.

In Asia, sports wagering is a part of the culture. The Ashes series is an example of this, as it has historical rivalries with great competition in the region. This is why H2 Gambling Capital expects a 12% increase in digital wagering this year, because it is accessible.

The Top 10 Events

The most anticipated events are ranked below. The rankings are based on expected betting handles, global viewership, and market depth. To ensure a wide range of events, these rankings are created using data from ESPN and the International Betting Integrity Association, among other sources.

1. Super Bowl LIX (NFL): The championship takes place every year during the Super Bowl. Encapsulated within the Super Bowl Weekends recreation events, the championship takes place February 9 at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. The championship bets take place annually for an average of 7.6 billion. The championship consists of prop bets for the performances during the championship season, and the performances reward the halftime show with Kendrick Lamar.
2. ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup: The Women’s World Cup takes place in India between September 30 and November 2. The extension of the World Cup to 32 teams in the group stage will help with the bets. India is seen as the strongest country to compete for the World Cup with a 2024 T20 World Cup victory.
3. UEFA Champions League: The championship will be at Munich’s Allianz Arena with the final on May 31. The championship is televised to 380 million viewers as of 2024 and takes place in 2024. The bets for the championship increase as the pathways for the knockout rounds open. Currently placed, Real Madrid remains at +500 for the bets.
4. Wimbledon Championships (Tennis): The championships will be at the All England Club, with the finals from June 30 to July 13. Predictions at the All England Club, Wimbledon, are the most-watched Grand Slam competition. The Wimbledon finals have 18 different markets to bet on the courts.
5. The Masters (Golf): Scheduled from April 10-13 at Augusta National. Ninety-five players participate, and Scottie Scheffler leads the odds at +400 among competitors like Rory McIlroy. With a 7,555-yard course layout, golf betting is primarily handicap.
6. FIFA Club World Cup: Running from June 15-July 13 and hosted in the US, the World Club Cup expanded to 32 teams. With a +250 betting line, Manchester City is the predicted winner. Over 1.8 goals and the under bet is set at 1.8; there is betting interest for Asian clubs like Al-Hilal.
7. Kentucky Derby (Horse Racing): The annual May 3 Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs offers 1.25 miles to 20 three-year-olds and is the target of 200 million dollars in wagers. The Mystik Dan 2024 upset is a big indicator for value hunting in exotic wagers like the trifecta.
8. Ryder Cup (Golf): September 25-28 at Bethpage Black is the venue for the us vs Europe golf matchplay. The 2023 retained odds for Europe at +120 show balance in the markets. Session betting gives the most extreme footage with the most fluctuation.
9. NBA Finals: June 5-22 marked the best NBA teams, with the Boston Celtics holding +350 odds after the 2024 title. The series format with multiple sequels allows for progressive parlays, which average 2.3 games with bets placed per person.
10. The Ashes (Cricket): The historic Test series is set to take place in November 2025. Over these five matches, in the first inning, the session betting average is set at over 150 runs, with 150 being the predicted line they set. Australia defends while England runs the Bazball strategy.

Comparative

This briefly explains the differences in wagering opportunities. The data for the wagering opportunities comparison is from Statista and BettingSites for 2024 and projected for 2025.

Handle and Betting Markets

Event	Expected Global Handle ($B)	Primary Markets	Avg. Odds Favorite	Viewership (M)
Super Bowl	8.0	Props, spreads, totals	-110 (TBD)	120
ICC Women’s WC	2.5	Match winner, top run-scorer	+200 (India)	500
UEFA CL Final	4.2	Goal scorers, corners	+500 (Real Madrid)	450
Wimbledon	1.8	Set betting, aces	-110 (Alcaraz)	300
The Masters	1.2	Outrights, head-to-heads	+400 (Scheffler)	15

The Super Bowl shows dominance in volume, while cricket shows popularity in Asia with its detailed statistical betting. Transitioning to tennis and golf helps understand how shorter duration events allow bettors more in-play changes with live odds shifting by 15-20% during the game.

Strategic Considerations for User Engagement

Bettors engaging with these events learn best from historical trends such as the underdog win rate of 28% in the Ryder Cup. Each venue has its own trends, and for Augusta, the 1st round leader win rate is 35%. The Women’s Cricket World Cup offers interesting variables as Sri Lanka is a co-hosting country.

The strong NBA Finals run most likely means players will be tiring for summer leagues, which means you will likely want to adjust your summer league tennis futures accordingly. Regulatory compliance is still important, especially in Singapore, where licensed operators manage 70% of the volume in the region. These insights are important when deciding how to participate in the competition in the year.