It’s amazing to think that it’s only been in the last 5 to 7 years that sports betting really took off. Betting on horse racing has been around for a very long time but betting on everyday sports like football only really started taking off in the early 1990’s. Today, much of the most popular sports are driven by betting and if it was not for this some of them would have been bankrupt by now.

Betting really makes watching a game all that more exciting. Obviously doing it responsibly is very important but waging a bet on your favorite team can add a whole new twist on things. For many its become a living and professional bettors actually make a fortune doing that.

Although popular sports like football, baseball and hockey dominate betting in the USA there are a number of sports that are potentially much more lucrative and exciting. Lets quickly look at 2 favorites.

1. Golf
Betting on golf is particularly exciting because a tournament can swing so dramatically over the 3 days it’s played. Betting on any Major golf tournament is big money in the USA – and now that Tiger Woods is no longer dominating the game there are some impressive odds and a whole new field that makes it really exciting and very lucrative.

2. Cricket
If you are American then you’ve probably never even heard about cricket but it”s one of the biggest games in the world and the national sport of India, Pakistan and Shri Lanka. It also has a huge following in Australia, England, South Africa and New Zealand. International games have great odds and there are 3 forms of the game – the shortest being the 20/20 format that is very popular in betting circles.