The Ultimate List of Upcoming Sports 2024

Forget the usual suspects, 2024 is all about betting on the underdog. We’ve collated the ultimate list of sports viewing statistics, detailing the events that are rapidly rising in popularity. Want to know where the opportunities are in sports betting? Start here.

Currently shielding

What sporting events are on the up?

The ones to watch (and to get ahead of). These sporting events have been experiencing a rapid increase in viewership in the past few years.

From 1.12 billion to 2 billion

Viewership of the Women’s FIFA World Cup almost doubled between 2019 and 2023.

Up 5% year-over-year

ESPN platforms’ full slate of College Football bowls in 2024 averaged 4.6 million viewers across 40 total games.

Up 24% year-on-year

The number of Americans who follow judo represents one of the largest increases for any sport over this time span.

Up 10% year-on-year

Though huge in the US, global growth in engagement with the NBA can be linked to international stars.

Up 12.3% year-on-year

The increase in eSports viewership is up massively due to the post-Covid boom.

From 6th most popular to 4th

Soccer is rising up the ranks of popularity in the US, driven mainly by younger audiences.

First time betting

Due to an increase in viewership Caesars will offer betting on swimming at the 2024 Aquatics World Championships.

A household reach of 160m

Padel’s Hexagon Cup will be streamed for the first time in 2024 on Eurosport+.

2bn total viewers

The Winter Olympics grow in popularity every year, driven by big hitters like figure skating and bobsleigh.

3bn viewers in its inaugural year

Social media and Google searches soared over the men’s qualifying combined sport climbing round during Tokyo 2020.

5.3m collective viewers

In 2023, a record number of people tuned in for the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) World Championship.

380% increasing in viewer time

The 2023 Cycling World Championships saw unprecedented interest across the BMX category.

It’s not just viewership that’s increasing across the sporting world

Invalid traffic is on the up, and it’s costing you money.

Returning users

Chances are, a huge percentage of your digital marketing budget is wasted on existing customers using your ads as an entry point. We recently saw a company spend 97% of their branded keyword budget on existing customers, draining their spend and delivering zero conversions.

Bonus abuse

Using free bonuses or boosted bets to drive new customer acquisition? It’s a great tactic to keep that competitive edge, and fraudsters will thank you for it too. Bad actors use automated bots to create fake accounts and steal bonuses, spending your money without driving further value.

These Stats Are Taken Straight From the Campaigns of Our 30+ Sports Betting Clients

Arm yourself with knowledge…

17%

Sports betting businesses are subject to a 17% invalid traffic rate on average

34.2%

The largest rate of invalid traffic we have found in a sports betting business is 34.2%

$6.5m

The largest amount of budget we have unlocked for a sports betting customer is over $6 million in just six months

40+

We work with over 40 global sports betting brands

$1bn

The TrafficGuard platform handles $1 billion of sports betting spend every year

94%

William Hill's invalid traffic cost rate dropped by 94%

Sign up to our sports betting newsletter

Subscribe to Crush The Odds and get the hottest trends and tools in the sports betting industry delivered every month.

Sports betting insights

Resources for sports betting success

From customer case studies to insights from our global team.
April 25, 2024
2024-04-25

The State of US Sports Betting

The USA has one of the fastest growing sports betting markets, here's the state of play...
Learn more
April 19, 2024
2024-04-19

Customer Spotlight: William Hill

Propelling William Hill...
Learn more
May 10, 2024
2024-05-10

Mobile Gambling - Sportsbooks Face Growing Fraud

Exposing the industry to significant fraudulent activities...
Learn more