Most sportsbooks are conservative by their very nature and make it a priority to minimize their downside risk. For that reason, they’re hesitant to deviate from the traditional mix of betting sports. There are a few exceptions that have no problem trying new things even if they border on the bizarre. This article lists some of the most unusual live betting sports that bookmakers have posted. Every one of these has been on the board taking action at at least one sportsbook in the world within the past month. In most cases, they’re currently on the board at the time of this writing.
PRO WRESTLING: Despite the fact that the matches are ‘worked’ and the outcomes predetermined there’s a surprising amount of pro wrestling betting at online sportsbook. A few have started to offer live betting during big events like Wrestlemania. Players can bet on updated odds to win the match as it progresses plus take a shot at props like ‘next wrestler to get a near fall (2 count)’ or ‘will either wrestler be thrown out of the ring before the end of the match’. Since a good deal of the in-ring action leading up to the finish is improvised, this one actually makes sense.
LOTTERY: A few Eastern European sportsbooks allow players to bet on lottery games ‘in running’. Many jurisdictions offer keno-like games that are played several times per day. Players can wager on the specific numbers drawn and a laundry list of props related to these numbers. Wagers are available such as ‘Will any drawn number be divisible by 5?’ and ‘Will the difference between the highest number drawn and lowest number drawn be Over or Under 17.5?’ As strange as it sounds, it wouldn’t surprise me to see lottery live betting become much more widespread. You can’t handicap it so sportsbooks don’t have to deal with ‘sharp’ money and the general public remains fascinated with the lottery particularly when the jackpot hits the nine figure mark.
CHESS: Most European sportsbooks take action on major chess events and a fair number of these take live betting on games as they are in progress. High level competitive chess is a perfect fit for live wagering due to having several minutes between moves. The ‘to win’ odds are adjusted throughout the match as are odds on the draw. Doubtful that chess will ever replace NFL football in the minds of the betting public but with a ton of statistical data to work with it’s actually a decent betting sport.
VIDEO GAMES: Not to be confused with esports which are competitions among professional video game players. Several Eastern European sportsbooks offer live betting on random video games contested by unknown players and streamed to the world. Available games at the time of this writing are Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, King of Fighters, Tekken and even Angry Birds. There’s also plenty of sports games including Rugby Fifteens, Madden NFL 18, EA Sports PGA Tour, Dirt Rally Racing, F1 2017, FBL Floorball, and even WWE 2K18 among many others. Betting on random games of Street Fighter might not be your cup of tea but the sports games are essentially the same experience as the increasingly popular ‘Virtual Sports’ offered at many sportsbooks.
TWENTYONE: Better known to many as ‘Blackjack’. A couple of Eastern European sportsbooks offer live betting on computer simulated blackjack games. The amazing thing is that they come up with dozens of prop bets on a hand of blackjack. There’s ‘to win’ betting on the player and the dealer, player and dealer totals, prop bets odds on the player busting, getting specific suits or ranks and even a +1200 prop bet on each player getting a specific face card.