When you think of sports betting, putting money on table tennis might not be the first thing that comes to mind. But it turns out it has seen a sharp rise in popularity in recent months. In fact, millions of dollars have been placed on table tennis betting odds in the past year.
This is particularly true in Colorado. When legal sports betting began in the state on May 1, 2020, the world was in the thick of COVID-19 chaos and pretty much every professional sport had been shut down. Which meant there were virtually no sports to bet on. But table tennis remained. This was its time to shine.
In the first month after sports betting became legal in Colorado, $6.6 million was placed on table tennis, making it the most popular sport for bettors. MMA came in as the next most popular sport, with only $1.7 million bet on that.
As sports began to return, bettors kept wagering on table tennis. And BetMGM has seen this continued rise in popularity first-hand.
“BetMGM customers love wagering on table tennis as there are many betting opportunities and the matches are fast-paced,” Jason Scott, VP of Trading at BetMGM, said. “The sportsbook saw a spike in wagers at the beginning of COVID last year and we continue to take six-figures of handle on the sport each month.”
In the past year at BetMGM, table tennis was the sixth most-bet sport, putting it ahead of golf and NASCAR. The average size of bets they see on table tennis is $50 and the most-bet months for table tennis have been November and December. Yes, there is a peak table tennis season.
And BetMGM has seen some notable winning bets on table tennis. One bettor wagered $20,000 to win $12,121 on the number of points in the fourth set over 17.5 for a Rachkov vs. Mohnachev match this past January. And another bettor put down $10,000 to win $10,500 on the number of points on the first set over 18.5 for Bogomolov vs. Vologzhanin in December 2020. You can make some serious coin betting on table tennis.
While there are many aspects of the COVID era that we can’t wait to leave behind, the rise in popularity of table tennis betting is one of the few positives to come out of the past year. Especially for sportsbooks and those who found luck betting on it.
Lucy is a sports betting content producer with Audacy and BetQL. She has worked with WEEI and Audacy as a writer, radio producer and podcaster. Lucy lives in Boston and loves Tom Brady and prop bets. Follow Lucy on Twitter at @LucilleBurdge.
