Major Sporting Events to Enjoy in 2024 – The Best to Bet On.

by Roy Brindley, 25 January 2024

An Olympic year, the seventeenth edition of the Euros, two Cricket World Cups, boxing’s first undisputed heavyweight championship fight since 1999, the longest Formula 1 season ever, plus all the annual favourites, means 2024 will be a sporting year for sports betting fans to savour.

The All England Club lays dormant for much of the year. It will become very alive during the first two weeks of July 2024. ©GettyImages

Join us as we take a look at the list of major sporting events scheduled for the year ahead. We have all the bases covered, from interesting facts to dates, history, form pointers, bookmakers’ latest odds, and how to watch. And yes, Baseball’s 120th World Series does get a mention!

Football: The Gift That Keeps on Giving

The Africa Cup of Nations (January 13 – February 11) was the first major football event of 2024. Ivory Coast staged the competition for a second time, but Germany will register a first when it hosts the UEFA European Football Championship between June 14 – July 14.

At the start of the year, football betting sites made England the 7/2 favourites in the competition’s outright betting. France (4/1), Germany (6/1), Spain (7/1), Portugal (8/1), Belgium (14/1) and Netherlands (16/1) followed. Remarkably, defending champions Italy were available on 20/1.

Domestically, the Carabao Cup will be decided on February 25. The FA Cup semi-finals are on April 20, with the final on May 25. The concluding Premier League action will have taken place six days beforehand.

May 25 is also the date set aside for the showpiece of Women’s European club Football, the Women’s Champions League Final. The competition will be staged in Bilbao’s San Mamés Stadium. Hopefully, it will be as exciting as the 2023 decider when Barcelona came from 2-nil down to beat Wolfsburg.

Football betting sites sites will eagerly await the 2024 UEFA Champions League final. It is being staged at Wembley on June 1. Spanish sides have won this competition six times in the past decade. The last four Champions League finals had a 1-0 scoreline.

Boxing: Fire and Fury in the Ring

WBC champion Tyson Fury will attempt to wrestle the WBA, WBO, and IBF titles away from Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia on February 17. The duo will seek to join legends such as Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Sonny Liston, George Foreman, and Evander Holyfield as undisputed heavyweight champions.

.@Tyson_Fury‘s message to Usyk is very clear 👀#FuryUsyk | FEB 17 | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia pic.twitter.com/34MPEkuw0v

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) January 22, 2024

The first undisputed heavyweight champion was Jack Dempsey in 1922; the last was Lennox Lewis in 2000. Who will win this fight, one of the most anticipated 2024 sporting events? At 4/5, boxing betting sites marginally favour Fury heading into the bout that is being promoted as ‘Ring of Fire’. They also prefer a long fight and offer 1/3 the fight will go beyond ten rounds.

Tennis: The Grand Slams

The Australian Open was one of the first major sporting events of 2024. But almost four months pass before the second tennis major, the French Open, begins on May 20 at Roland-Garros. Novak Djokovic is the defending champion.

Wimbledon – where Djokovic has won for four of the past five editions – begins on July 1, and the final tennis major of 2024, the US Open, has August 26 – September 8 blocked off in the sporting calendar.

Diehard tennis fans will head to Martin Carpena Arena in Málaga, Spain, for the Davis Cup finals on November 18. Armchair fans will fancy a Sky Sports subscription, which allows live coverage of over 80 tournaments and 4,000 matches, including every Masters event of 2024.

NFL: A Vegas Super Bowl

Country Music Hall of Famer Reba McEntire has been given the honour of singing the national anthem at Super Bowl LVIII. The final, which more often than not in recent years has gone to the underdogs, will be played at the $1.9 billion Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on February 11. Usher is the half-time act.

The 2023 Super Bowl was the first one played in a state where sports gambling is legal. It broke all previous betting records online, and Las Vegas sportsbooks reported $153 million in turnover. With Super Bowl experiences planned at venues up and down the Las Vegas Strip this year, $200 million could be gambled on the event in the US alone.

Darts: The Sport That Keeps on Growing

Darts got its 2024 off to the perfect start when 16-year-old sensation Luke Littler reached the final of the World Darts Championship. The youngster immediately franked the form by winning the Bahrain Masters (a World Series event) in January.

The flourishing sport has a hectic schedule with events staged throughout the year. Sky Sports viewers are always well catered for – especially in the early months of the year when the Premier League is a weekly treat. It runs for 17 nights, concluding on May 23 at The O2 London.

The dates of Darts’ major ranked televised tournaments are:

Cricket: Welcome to America Twenty20

The 2024 International Cricket season is scheduled between May 2024 and August 2024. The high point is the ninth edition of the biennial Men’s Twenty20 World Cup. It will be co-hosted by the West Indies and the United States from June 1 until June 29.

The USA takes on neighbour Canada in the opening game. On day two, fellow hosts, the West Indies, will play Papua New Guinea in Guyana. Ten of the 20 competing teams will play their first match of the 29-day tournament in the USA. Sixteen contests will be played in Lauderhill, Dallas and New York.

The blockbuster clash between India and Pakistan is scheduled for the new Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in Long Island on June 9. England – aiming to rectify the horrors of 2023’s 50-over tournament in India – starts its campaign on June 4 against Barbados.

The defending champions, England, could be backed at 9/2 at the turn of the year. They were also 10/11 joint-favourites to win qualification Group B alongside Australia, who they will play on June 8 in Barbados.

In the autumn, it is the turn of the women. The ninth edition of the Women’s Twenty20 World Cup will be hosted by Bangladesh between September and October. Australia, already six-time winners, will be big favourites. England (2009) and The West Indies (2016) are the only ever successful nations.

Cycling: Riding on a High

Cycling is riding higher than at any part of the past decade. Jonas Vingegaard will chase a third Tour de France victory in the early summer. At the start of 2024, he was marginally odds-on to complete the hat trick. 2020 and 2021 winner Tadej Pogačar followed in the betting on 3/1.

Three-time Vuelta a Espana winner Primož Roglič cannot be dismissed in the French classic. The Slovenian, a former ski jumper who took 2023’s Giro d’Italia, will ride for BORA-Hansgrohe in 2024. The switch of scenery could freshen up the 34-year-old. In January, cycling betting sites had him priced on 6/1. It is a quote that could tempt each-way betting thieves.

But the Tour de France is just one of three Grand Tours and 35 2024 UCI World Tour events. Welshman Stephen Williams took the first of them when landing January’s Tour Down Under. Proceedings will end on October 20 with the Tour of Guangxi.

The dates of Cycling’s Monument and Grand Tour Races in 2024 are:

Golf: One Cup and Four Majors

Recovering from 4-0 down after the opening foursomes, Europe successfully retained the Solheim Cup in September 2023 by securing a 14-14 draw. With the tournament moved forward to even number years to avoid clashes with the Ryder Cup, the competition is back in 2024.

Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia, United States, is the venue for competition. Dates are set for September 13 – September 15. At the start of 2024, golf betting sites made the USA 8/11 to win on home soil for the first time since 2017.

There are 39 tournaments on the 2024 PGA Tour. The dates and venues for the Major Championships are:

Horse Racing: Usual Slots for the Classics

There is little change in the world of horse racing in 2024. All the major events have their regular slots. The Cheltenham Festival begins, as always, during the second week of March. This year, its exact dates are March 12 – March 15.

The British classics are scheduled as follows: 2000 Guineas (May 4), 1000 Guineas (May 5), Oaks (May 31), Derby (June 1), St Leger (September 14). The ever-popular festivals have the following slots on the calendar: Aintree (featuring the Grand National), April 11 – April 13; Royal Ascot, June 18 – June 22; Glorious Goodwood, July 30 – August 3; York Ebor Festival, August 21 – August 24.

On the International scene, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe will be run in Paris on Sunday, October 6. Both the 2024 and 2025 Breeders’ Cup meetings will take place in San Diego’s iconic Del Mar. This year’s meeting dates are November 1 and 2.

Rugby: Six Nations Spoon Time for Italy

France and Ireland disputed Six Nations betting favouritism as we entered 2024. 18-time wooden spoon winners, Italy could be backed on 500/1. It is a price that is unlikely to shrink! The competition runs between February 2 – March 16.

France will host their home Six Nations games away from Stade de France in Paris for the first time in 2024. Due to preparations for the Olympic Games, Marseille, Lille, and Lyon will act as home venues. Place March 23 – April 27 into your diary for the Women’s Six Nations. England have taken this title every year since 2019.

The Super League – the top tier of the British Rugby League system – will have its grand final on October 12. Wigan Warriors are the defending champions, having beaten the French team, Catalans Dragons, in the 2023 Grand Final. You read right, French! Currently, the British league consists of twelve teams: ten from Northern England, one from London and one from southern France.

Olympic Games: Zharnel Rivals on the Run

Three years since the flame went out on the muted Tokyo Games, the 2024 Paris edition will set the world alight. Between July 26 – August 11, 10,500 athletes will compete in 329 events encompassing 32 sports (48 disciplines). There will be plenty of sport you can bet on this summer!

In 2021, the USA topped the medal table by just one gold – beating China 39-38. Japan finished third with 27 golds, Great Britain followed with 22. In total, the Americans did win the most medals, 114. China claimed 89, and Great Britain finished ahead of Japan with a tally of 64 compared to 58.

Unibet cannot see the USA being toppled in 2024. In its Olympic medal table betting, the nation gets a 1/10 quote. China is 5/1, Japan 66/1 and Great Britain 80/1. When the Olympic betting markets open on the Blue Riband 100 metres, consider Zharnel Hughes seriously.

This summer, the 28-year-old will chase his first Olympic medal after injury and error scuppered his two previous attempts. A knee ligament issue denied him the chance to compete in 2016. Three years ago, at Tokyo 2020, a false start in the final led to his disqualification. Without his presence, Italy’s Marcell Jacobs was crowned a shock champion.

Formula 1: Much More of the Same

The same teams, the same drivers and only a few managerial changes. That is the story of the 2024 Formula 1 season. However, the return of China to the roster means this will be the longest season ever. 24 Grand Prix races are on the calendar, and six weekends feature Sprint Races.

24 races in 2024 with big steps forward in regionalisation 🌏

Introducing next year’s Formula 1 calendar 🗓️#F1 pic.twitter.com/JTSWJL29yH

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 5, 2023

Max Verstappen is priced a miserly 1/4 to claim his fourth successive World Drivers’ Championship title. Britain’s Lando Norris is considered his chief threat. The Brit can be backed on 9/1 odds. Lewis Hamilton, 12/1, and teammate George Russell, 33/1, could represent value.

Their Mercedes team has been persevering with a concept very different from Red Bull’s for the past two years. The German outfit is now preparing to unveil a heavily revised challenger for 2024. It will reportedly feature a new chassis, front and rear suspension, gearbox, honed aerodynamics, and side pods.

Other 2024 Sport You Can Bet On

Snooker’s glory days are a distant memory. But the sport remains one of the most straightforward to bet on, and the World Championship enjoys excellent BBC TV coverage. In 2024, that competition will run between April 20 and May 6. Belgian Luca Brecel is 16/1 to retain his title. Evergreen Ronnie O’Sullivan is the people’s favourite (in every sense) and 3/1 to take the title for an eighth time.

Greyhound Racing’s 2024 calendar features a whopping 57 Category One events. 14-time Champion trainer Mark Wallis can be relied on to scoop a generous handful of the best sporting events.

The sport’s showpiece, Greyhound Derby, will once again take place at Towcester. It begins at the end of May and will conclude on June 29. The Irish version starts on October 18, with the final scheduled for November 23.

In the Ballpark of a Record-Breaking Win

Last but not least, Baseball’s World Series gets its promised mention. The 2024 postseason is scheduled to begin on October 1, with a potential World Series Game 7 set for November 2. The competition will fly under most people’s radar on this side of ‘the pond’, but it deserves its place on this list as it has a unique place in history.

In 2022, Jim McIngvale, a 71-year-old Houston furniture entrepreneur and renowned gambler affectionately known as “Mattress Mack,” placed a handful of wagers, totalling $10 million, on the Houston Astros to win the World Series. The character collected $75 million when his home team won – the largest recorded win in legal sports betting history.

However, McIngvale may have kept little of his winnings. He told Forbes he had sold $73 million worth of mattresses with a promotion that allowed any customer who spent $3,000 or more on a bed/mattress to have their money returned if the Astros won. He even offered his customers double their money back on the result if they bought in May, June and July!