Weird Sports to Bet on All Around the World

Sports betting is incredibly popular in the United States, and it has been over the past two decades. As gambling becomes legal in more states, its revenue grows exponentially.

You’re likely familiar with people betting on popular sports, such as basketball, football, or baseball. However, there are some obscure sports in far corners of the world that you may or may not know is available to bet on.

Let’s take a look at weird sports betting around the world.

Pesapallo

“Pesapallo” is also referred to as “Finnish baseball” and is widely considered the national pastime in Finland. The sport with the delicious-sounding name is also popular in Germany and Australia.

People call this sport Finnish baseball for good reason. The sport closely resembles baseball in many facets. Pesapallo implements a bat and ball, just like baseball. Still, instead of a baseball diamond, the game is played on a substantially larger field. Think of a house drawn by a small child flipped upside down.

The game moves much faster than baseball and looks entirely chaotic for the untrained viewer. For me, this only adds to the excitement and intrigue.

You aren’t going to walk into the sportsbook at the Aria and find pesapallo games. However, you can usually find action on the more significant events. Of course, there will be some online sports betting sites that offer pesapallo bets as well.

WWE

That’s right, you can bet on World Wrestling Entertainment. You probably wouldn’t expect to see WWE wade into the waters of sports betting.





When you look at the popularity of the WWE and the loyal legion of fans it boasts, the pairing makes quite a bit of sense.

The sport is electric, and even those that don’t follow the WWE can quickly be drawn into the show. That show is put on several times a week in front of packed arenas across the United States and televised internationally for millions of viewers. These aren’t high school gyms that they’re packing viewers in like sardines either.

No, the WWE fills arenas every week. For the companies’ significant events ,like the aptly named Wrestlemania, the crowd at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX, where the Dallas Cowboys play totaled 101,763.

That’s a lot of Hulk Hogan wallets walking through the gates. With crowds that rival NFL games (the Tampa Bay Bucs would probably sell their soul for 100k in attendance), it isn’t any surprise the sportsbooks took notice.

The WWE holds several of these enormous pay-per-view spectacles every year, including the Royal Rumble. You can find matchup bets and a prop bet list that rivals that of the Super Bowl.

You don’t have to create an account at Carl’s Sportsbook either. The big guns in the offshore sports betting game are in on the action as well. BetOnline and Bovada are blazing the trail for betting on WWE events.

Because of stringent regulations on sports betting in the United States, it may be some time before WWE slips into mainstream gambling. Even with its predetermined outcomes, it seems that with enough money in hand, you can get whatever you want.

Bog Snorkeling

For starters, a bog is defined as a “wet, muddy ground too soft to support a heavy body.” Yep, I had to Google it myself.

You won’t find much bog snorkeling in tropical places like Belize or Fiji. You probably couldn’t convince anyone to snorkel through a bog when there are hundreds of miles of pristine beach with crystal-blue waters to wade in.

However, the United Kingdom has none of that. So, they head for the bogs to get their snorkeling fix. Each year, as the infamous pitiful weather reaches its climax, the marshy bogs of Britain are flooded with competitors for the World Bog Snorkeling Championship.

The sport is pretty straightforward. You need a flipper and a snorkel to compete. Add a mask if you wish to compete well.

Once you’ve obtained the essentials, you need copious amounts of rain. Competitors in the World Bog Snorkeling Championship are timed as they complete two individual sections of the bog.

The local sports markets get into the action for this truly unusual event, and bettors can lay money on their favorites.

Bog snorkeling is about as weird as it gets when it comes sports betting around the world. You have large groups of adults happily traversing through water that’s not even suitable enough for hippos.

Nevertheless, the sport draws in adventurers from around the world. The sportsbooks add another level of excitement to the activities. Corporate sponsors line up to get in on the action.

I only wish that Vince Vaughn and his merry band of misfits from Average Joe’s Gymnasium would have opted for grabbing a snorkel instead of a ball. Maybe we’d be blessed with a sequel, Snorkel: A True Underbog Story. That title has a certain ring to it.

Arm Wrestling

The World Arm Wrestling League or WAL inspired the first-ever arm-wrestling betting odds published by a legitimate oddsmaker. Many consider arm wrestling a legitimate sport, and I agree. It’s more of a competition than a lot of what I see at the Olympics.

The mano a mano spectacle is split into two divisions—stand up and sit down. Many competitors will register for both divisions, but almost all will excel in one discipline over the other.

My knowledge of arm wrestling stems almost exclusively from the ‘80s classic film “Over the Top.” Sylvester Stalone taught me that to succeed. I need to flip my ball cap around backward and flip the switch.

This strategy wouldn’t work for a vast majority of us, and many may even scurry away from the match with a broken arm or wrist. The men and women involved in competitive arm wrestling are masters of their sport, and many are absolute behemoths.

Most of the events in professional arm wrestling are double-elimination events. That type of activity can make it incredibly challenging to pick out a clear winner. Luckily, you can bet on individual matchups throughout the event where you only need to pick a winner between two contestants.

Chess

Chess, as we know it, has existed for thousands of years. The sport is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and must adhere to their anti-doping policies.





I love playing chess, despite my embarrassing lack of ability. My grandfather was an avid chess player, and he and I would play a few games several times a week. We maintained our weekly matches until he was no longer able to play. Although Grandpa was a lousy chess player, I’m proud to walk in his footsteps.

On the other hand, Bobby Fischer was an American chess grandmaster and possibly the greatest player ever. He had natural talent to start. While Fischer is no longer on the scene as the world champion, there are many on their own paths to greatness.

Online sportsbooks will typically provide action on massive events like national or world championships. Don’t expect to get any parlays or a ton of prop bets. Usually, you’ll only be able to wager on the winners of these events.

Chicken Bingo

Suppose you head down to Austin, TX, and stop into The Little Longhorn Saloon on any Sunday afternoon. You’ll be in the right spot for chicken “poop” bingo.

The rules are pretty simple. Step one, you have to get in line and buy your $2 ticket. After all, tickets do sell out. The chicken gets placed in the cage with a floor made of squares. Then, it’s a waiting game.

Waiting for what?

Okay, try to wrap your head around this one. You’ll be waiting for the chicken to pick a winning number in their particular way. Yep, I won’t go into great detail. If the name doesn’t give it away, then you should probably stay away from betting on this one.

Hundreds gather every week at the eclectic bar, and the place itself has inspired some lovely music. On a usual Sunday, you could see as many as four or five different rounds of “bingo.”

Be sure to follow a few simple rules:

• Get in line if you want to buy a ticket.
• Children 13 and under get their tickets first. Yes, kids are welcome. In fact, they’re encouraged.
• Adults 91 and over are prioritized next. So, snatch great-grandma up from her retirement home and get her out for some fresh air.
• Have fun!

That’s all there is to it. It sounds ridiculous, I know. But it’s actual hours of family-oriented fun that instantly creates a sense of community.

Conclusion

I encourage you to bear in mind that simply because you can bet on something, it doesn’t mean you should.

You could be the biggest WWE fan globally. But if you can’t see how betting your life’s savings on a fixed match is a problem, then I’m here to tell you that it’s a problem.

The point is to keep things light and friendly. Sure, $10 on whether or not Stone Cold Steve Austin will Stone Cold stun Vince McMahon may add way more than $10 worth of entertainment value to the event.

Just remember that gambling and sports are strictly entertainment, especially on these weird sports betting opportunities around the world.

If you’re looking for more weird sports to bet on, check out this article on 10 sports you didn’t know you could bet on linked below.