Kenya has one of the largest and most successful gambling industries in Africa and its rapid growth shows no signs of slowing down. Much of Kenya’s gambling success comes down to the public’s insatiable hunger for sports betting.
Whilst domestic sports do attract attention from Kenya sports betters, it is often overseas sports that garner the biggest interest. In this article we take a look at some of the biggest sports events that you can bet on in 2022.
Horse Racing
When it comes to sports betting there really is nothing quite like horse racing. The Ngong Racecourse may host some of the country’s premier horse racing meets but for top tier events we have to look abroad to the likes of:
Cheltenham, UK: The Cheltenham Festival, which will be held from Tuesday, 15th March to Friday, 18th March is world renowned for its drama and action. Last year the famous Gold Cup was won by Minella Indo. This year, according to the latest Cheltenham Odds, A Plus Tard is the favourite to romp to victory.
Kentucky, USA: The Kentucky Derby is the highlight of the North American horse racing calendar. The 148th incarnation of the self-described “Greatest Two Minutes in Sport” will take place on Saturday, 7th May this year with Messier, Epicentre and Smile Happy among the favourites.
Melbourne Cup, Australia: When the racing goes dormant in the northern hemisphere, we have Australia to turn to. This year’s Melbourne Cup, a 3,200 metre race, will be held on Tuesday 1st, November.
Football
The world’s most popular sport is also Kenya’s most popular sport and whilst Kakamega Homeboyz and City Stars might be battling it out in the domestic Premier League, overseas football is more alluring to Kenyan betters. Here are some key tournaments that will be eagerly wagered on:
Champions League: Europe’s premier continental cup is heating up with 16 teams being whittled down to 8 in the knockout stages. There remain a number of questions to be answered in this year’s tournament: will Man City finally triumph in Europe? Can Chelsea retain their crown? Will Ajax or Benfica buck the betting odds?
Serie A: There hasn’t been a good old-fashioned title race in Europe’s top leagues for some time now as teams like Manchester City and Bayern Munich have steamrollered all opposition in front of them. In Italy though, things are really beginning to heat up with AC Milan, Inter Milan and Napoli all separated by just 2 points.
The World Cup: Who would have thought holding a World Cup in Qatar would have been a bad idea? This year’s tournament will be taking place 5 months later than scheduled to negate the ferocious heat in the Middle Eastern country, but that’s not what’s important to sports betters. The winner of world football’s biggest prize is what’s important to sports betters.
Basketball
Another foreign import that is popular here in Kenya is basketball, and there is an awful lot to bet on in 2022:
NBA: The NBA is the biggest and best basketball tournament on the planet and this year’s finals, due to be held in the first two weeks of June will be hotly contested. The betting odds currently have the Phoenix Suns and the Golden State Warriors as favourites to battle it out in the playoffs, but as we know, anything can happen in basketball, particularly the NBA.
Euro League: The Euro League is Europe’s answer to the NBA. In recent years the quality level has risen dramatically causing a number of American teams to invest heavily into scouting the tournament.
The Final Four which will be held on the last weekend of May will see the top four finishers in the Euro League, (currently consisting of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Milano and Olympiacos) battle it out for continental supremacy.
NCAA: Dubbed as ‘March Madness’ the NCAA Division Men’s Basketball Tournament is due to be held from Sunday, 13th March to Monday, 4th April. The tournament which is a straight knockout sees America’s top college teams battle it out to be crowned champion.
For basketball fans the NCAA is an important fixture of the sporting calendar not just because it’s fun and exciting, but because it’s a great opportunity to cast an eye over the up-and-coming talent ahead of the NBA draft.
In Summary
There are plenty of overseas sports tournaments for Kenyan sports fans to bet on. If your favourite event, tournament of match hasn’t been covered be sure to let us know about it in the comments section below.
Finally, if you are going to be betting on these events, make sure to do your research first. An informed better is invariably a successful better.