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My 1-year-old French bulldog named Gunther has been meticulously judging me, wondering why I spend so much time looking for sports betting options when the industry is on hold.
That’s because despite the pause of NBA and NHL seasons, the postponement of the start of MLB, and the uncertain start of NFL season, there are some sports available for betting.
You must , things are in short supply. A better part of the options, at least for the four pillars of sports (NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB), are futures bets.
However, many sportsbooks around the country are offering very niche sports to wagering. Not every option will be referenced here, but below are some of the sports and activities professional and casual bettors can still wager on at legal sportsbooks in the US.
For an extensive list of betting options, you can head over to each sportsbook’s website, such as FanDuel Sportsbook, DraftKings Sportsbook and BetMGM Sportsbook.
NFL and NCAA football betting
The 2020 NFL Draft begins today, which means expect sportsbooks to offer a variety of NFL Draft betting options. Customers can also lay down several traditional futures bets, some of which include:
- 2020-21 Super Bowl champion (FanDuel, DraftKings, etc.)
- 2020-21 pro football regular season MVP (FanDuel, DraftKings, William Hill, etc.)
- 2020 NFL Draft (FanDuel, DraftKings, William Hill, etc.)
- 2020-21 college football national champion (FanDuel, DraftKings, William Hill, etc.)
- 2020 Heisman Trophy winner (FanDuel, DraftKings, William Hill, etc.)
NBA and NCAA basketball betting
March Madness betting may have been scrapped this year, but you can still bet on who will be next year’s champion. Should the NBA season resume later this year, you can also bet on who will win the 2019-20 NBA title in addition to the 2020 NBA Draft. Options include:
- Taiwan basketball (DraftKings)
- Chinese Taipei (DraftKings)
- 2020 NBA Draft (FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, etc.)
- 2020-21 NCAA basketball champion (FanDuel, DraftKings, William Hill, etc.)
- 2020 WNBA champion (William Hill)
Baseball betting
Baseball is still America’s favorite pastime, but it’s currently tricky to bet on pro baseball. Until MLB returns, a few international games are being played. They are:
- 2020-21 World Series champion (FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, William Hill, etc.)
- Taiwan baseball (William Hill)
- South Korean baseball (William Hill)
Soccer betting
Many soccer matches continue to be played overseas, which even baffles me. To that extent, several sportsbooks offer single-game soccer bets, except for William Hill, which is only offering bets in Nevada:
- 2020 FIFA World Cup (FanDuel, DraftKings, William Hill, etc.)
- 2020 UEFA Euro (FanDuel, DraftKings, William Hill, etc.)
- Belarusian Premier League (FanDuel, DraftKings, William Hill Nevada only, etc.)
- Taiwan Premier League (FanDuel, DraftKings, William Hill Nevada only, etc.)
Golf betting
Several 2020 PGA Tour events, including the Masters, have been postponed due to the pandemic. So, this means golf betting has been reduced to futures options until further notice. Options include:
- The Masters (FanDuel, DraftKings, William Hill, etc.)
- The Ryder Cup (FanDuel, DraftKings, William Hill, etc.)
- US Open (FanDuel, DraftKings, William Hill, etc.)
- Cactus League Women’s Golf matchup (FanDuel, DraftKings, William Hill, etc.)
Table tennis
Perhaps the most bet-on sport during the coronavirus pandemic has been table tennis. The most competitive leagues are based in the Czech Republic, Russia and Ukraine, with matches streamed on setka.cup.com. They include:
- Moscow Liga Pro matches (FanDuel, DraftKings, William Hill, etc.)
- Setka Cup men’s matches (FanDuel, DraftKings, William Hill, etc.)
- Czech TT Star Series (William Hill)
- Ukraine Win Cup matches (William Hill)
Additional options
On top of everything listed above, there are several other niche sports you can bet on. In no particular order, they include:
- Call of Duty League (William Hill Nevada only)
- League of Legends Europe (William Hill Nevada only)
- 2020 Premier League Darts (FanDuel, DraftKings, William Hill, etc.)
- Magnus Carlsen Invitational futures chess (William Hill)
- 2020 NASCAR Cup Series futures (FanDuel, DraftKings, William Hill, etc.)
- 2020 ICC Cricket World Cup futures (DraftKings)
The list of betting options may not be what we are used to, sadly. By now, I should have attended a handful of Chicago White Sox baseball games. The NBA and NHL playoffs would be heating up, and in-depth discussions on NFL training camp would be flooding TV screens.
Some things will continue, but they may look different. One change will be witnessed soon with the first-ever remote NFL Draft. But as I tell Gunther, during these challenging times, we must work with what we got.
