The dominant sports on sportsbook menus still remain football, NFL, basketball and horse racing. They draw the most traffic, the liquidity and the most precise pre-match lines. But a change is happening. Punters are turning to sports that were once on the margins; darts and cricket.
This growth in popularity of niche sports betting isn’t a passing fad. It reflects the way bettors attempt to find value in sports betting, watch live events and utilize data. Beetors doing a comparison for the best betting sites look beyond football accumulators, but the best opportunities can be in an IPL over market or a PDC checkout line. A bettor should look for coverage in both areas.
What has attracted more bettors to these sports? There are three forces that stand out: Mainstream markets are tougher to beat, niche sports are easier to follow and the statistical tools are better.
The search for value: Escaping saturated mainstream markets
Efficient betting markets incorporate data fast. One leak in a Premier League team-news or an NBA injury update or NFL weather angle can shift odds in a matter of minutes. The market is sharper thanks to high liquidity and professional action. That equates to smaller margins for recreational bettors.
Niche sports don’t have to be the same. While bookmakers are always very cautious, a lower tier darts competition and a domestic T20 fixture might not get as much trading love as a Manchester City versus Liverpool clash. That does not mean that it is easy to make a profit, but it can help to soften the edges where specialist knowledge is important. When playing floor-form darts, a player who is attuned to the rhythmic and checkout reliability could see a mispriced leg handicap before the market gets to it.
Psychology is important. Bettors who have a broad understanding of their sport want to get an edge in their betting. Chasing a Premier League favourite is like going to a busy shop. It’s more like a smaller auction in the early rounds of a darts match: the information is out there, just that not as many people so far have been able to value it properly. This makes an alternative type of sports betting appealing.
Unprecedented access: The power of live streaming and media coverage
Betting follows eyeballs. People are able to bet confidently when they can see a sport live and react to the momentum. Niche sports have been revolutionized by streaming. Hard-to-watch events are now being presented to the world through dedicated platforms, bookmaker live streams and wider TV deals.
The most obvious example is Darts. Sky is announcing the extension of its PDC deal, ensuring it will continue to air top darts events on its channels until 2030 and guaranteeing that they have 60-plus days of exclusive live coverage each year. Entain also revealed that darts betting has increased by 37% since 2018, while PDC World Darts Championship betting is up 92% and total betting stakes are up 59% since 2018.
Cricket has had a similar media boost, particularly via the IPL. The league’s 2023-27 media-rights cycle was estimated to be worth approximately $6.2 billion. JioCinema claimed to have garnered over 620 million streaming viewers during IPL 2024, while delivering 26 billion video views and 350 billion video minutes viewed. Cricket betting becomes addictive when you can find a T20 league every night on your mobile phone.
Year-round inventory is provided by the Ashes and global T20 leagues. A punter from the UK can switch from playing darts in the evening to playing Big Bash cricket overnight, or a cricket fan from India can bet on the game by the ball-by-ball coverage. People have started to bet frequently due to accessibility.
The analytics revolution: Using data to find an edge
It is no longer a domain of big sports that only deep data is available. Darts and cricket now generate statistics that can be searched and bookmakers make a lot of these into markets. For analytical punters, that’s more of an opportunity than a match-winner bet.
In sports betting, niche sports are event-based, which is why sports betting analytics is important. Darts is a game where each step to the board changes the likelihood of shooting a leg. Each ball has the potential to shift the run-rate pressure, the wicket expectation and the chase dynamics in cricket. When a bettor knows what’s going on in those micro events, they’ll be able to value a market better than a bettor who just knows by reputation.
The IPL data from Entain makes the case. In the 2024 tournament, in-play betting accounted for approximately 90% of its IPL betting volume, with match result bets comprising 40.1 per cent, next-over runs 14.6 per cent and team runs 11.8 per cent. Bettors aren’t simply picking winners, they’re picking on the contest itself.
Case study: In-depth stats in darts and cricket
World ranking is just one of many numbers that might be useful when betting on darts. The three-dart average indicates the ability to score. Checkout Percentage is a measure of finishing quality. The 180s per leg shows max hitters frequency and the deciding-leg records, missed doubles show pressure performance. These numbers are used to make bets on the biggest checkout, number of 180s or leg spreads/set handicaps.
The betting is even finer-grained with cricket. For instance, one bettor could compare the strike rate of a batter against the left arm spin, while another may look at the economy of a bowler on slow surfaces, or death over yorker accuracy in T20 or the powerplay scoring. Those factors can influence top batter, innings running, over total, wickets and player betting.
A market responds: How bookmakers are fueling the trend
Bookmakers have taken notice of where all the attention is going. They must now provide the depth in football, tennis and basketball, if they want to remain competitive. Top bookmakers have introduced more markets in niche sports, such as outright winner, match handicap, most 180s, highest checkout, next over runs, player runs and bowler wickets for darts and cricket.
This expanded menu has significance. As more markets are added, there are more chances for savvy wagers to offer an opinion. They also drive live betting to be more interesting as every leg, over or checkout attempt is a decision point. That’s where being niche and popular becomes a rational reaction to tighter mainstream betting lines, increased viewing opportunities, and more data. Bettors are not giving up on big games, they are merely giving opportunities where preparation and expertise can still make a difference.