Why AFL is becoming more popular to bet on than Horse Racing

The sport of kings has been popular in Australia for almost as long as people have been calling it Australia, which was official as of 1817. To compare, the first Melbourne Cup was run in 1861 and is one of the biggest and most prestigious races in the world.

However, punters are more opting into Australian Rules Football as their sport of choice to have a bet on. Online bookmakers now offer more AFL stats and insights than even the most in-depth form guides will have, and more experts are sharing their bets, with some even having doubled their return on investment from their AFL Tips. Horse racing on the other hand, 30% is considered a very high ROI percentage, with the typical ROI between 5-10%.

Another factor that is causing Horse racing to drift is the negative connotation on how the horses are treated and the implications for injured racehorses. Racehorse injuries are exceptionally difficult to treat and also very expensive. Unfortunately, most racehorses are not seen or nurtured by their owners and are a significantly priced and risky investment. When they suffer a career-ending injury, which will be an expensive, painful and non-guaranteed treatment – unfortunately, they are often euthanised.

According to a study by the Australian Government in October 2023, 87% of people who bet online had bet on Sports in the past 12 months, which was just behind Horse Racing on 91%. AFL counted for the most popular sport to bet on, with 58% of the sports bettors betting on it, and second highest was NRL, which had 49% of active sports bettors. This has grown exponentially since Roy Morgan did a study in 2017, and stated that 51% of active bettors bet mainly on horse racing, and only 6.8% of them were betting mainly on the AFL.