Horse racing is one of the oldest sports in the world dating back to ancient Greece and the Olympic games. Since then the horse racing has changed a lot and now it is a commercial sport that is available in every part of the world.
With that said, horse racing is currently on the 25th place most popular sport in terms of the number of fans, but the situation is different when it comes to betting. Horse racing is the 3rd most popular sport for betting in the United States, and the situation is similar in other countries.
Horse racing is very popular just because of the fast-paced two-minute action that can bring you a lot of money.
That’s why many people want to see horse racing on the list of legalized sports for betting. Most countries soften their rules and regulations in terms of horse racing, but there are still places where you cannot bet legally on horse racing.
Let’s go through the list of countries where you can legally bet on horse racing.
Australia
Australia is a country where most betting types are allowed. Additionally, horse racing has a rich history in Australia and they legalized on-track horse racing betting back in 1810,
Just like many countries, Australia has only one restriction in terms of betting and they don’t allow betting on third-party websites just to stop money from flowing out of the country.
Additionally, they limit the advertising type on television and radio just to protect young people from gambling promotion.
Nigeria
This is another country where most forms of gambling are allowed. With the National Lottery Act in 2005, Nigeria made huge changes in the gambling industry just to attract more third-party investors. Additionally, the government achieved its goal of reaching higher revenues through taxation.
You have the option of going to a local bookmaker or place bets online. The only restriction in terms of betting is the limitations in advertising on TV and radio.
People spend over $4.2 billion on gambling in Nigeria every year, and the trend continues to rise with the digitalization of casinos.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom is a country where almost all gambling activities are legal. The legal gambling law was established back in 1961, and just in a few months, there were more than 10,000 new betting shops that opened up.
You can bet on every sport, especially horse racing, which is very popular in the UK.
In terms of restrictions, there are almost none. You can place bets online, at your local bookmaker, or even on stadiums or major sporting events.
According to statistics from the Gambling Commission 2019, people spend around $20 billion every year in the United Kingdom.
Argentina
Countries in South America have strict rules about gambling, but Argentina is one of the countries that first soften their regulations in terms of gambling. Since horse racing has a rich history in Argentina, they decided to allow betting on horses back in the 1880s.
They made a lot of changes in their system first banning the government-regulated lottery and then soccer.
This made horse racing the only sport you can bet on in Argentina, which made it very popular in terms of betting.
With that said, they will definitely make a change and soften the regulations on the overall industry.
United States
The United States is a country where most forms of gambling are allowed, but each state has different rules and regulations when it comes to gambling. Horse Racing betting is very popular in the United States and you can bet legally in most of the states.
Even though they decided not to include horse racing in the anti-gambling act passed by the government back in 2006, there are still few states that decided to ban online horse racing betting.
States where horse racing is illegal:
- Alaska
- Mississippi
- South Carolina
- Georgia
- Missouri
- North Carolina
- Hawaii
- Utah
With that said, they are all seeing the benefits from allowing horse racing betting, and most states are looking for a way to make horse racing betting legal.
Recently Pennsylvania legalized horse racing betting, so you can bet online there if you click here: https://www.twinspires.com/states/pennsylvania
All other states in the United States allow horse racing betting in some way, whether it is OTB, pari-mutuel wagering, or online horse race betting.
