What Does ‘Event’ Mean in Sports Betting?
Lina Almans
17 October 2024
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An ‘event’ refers to any occasion — sports-related or not — that a bookmaker offers for betting. This can include sports competitions, political events, music award shows and more.
When it comes to sports betting specifically, an ‘event’ might be as broad as an entire competition or an individual matchup. For example, both the UEFA Champions League as a whole and a single game like Barcelona vs. Real Madrid within that league are considered events in the betting world.
Here’s how it looks at 1xBet:

Types of Events You Can Bet On
To give you a clearer picture, here’s a handy table that showcases the variety of events you might encounter when placing bets:
Category | Examples of Events |
Sports Competitions | UEFA Champions League, NFL Season, NBA Playoffs |
Specific Matches | PSG vs. Real Madrid, Novak Djokovic vs. Carlos Alcaraz |
Entertainment | The Oscars, Eurovision Song Contest, Grammy Awards |
Political Events | U.S. Presidential Elections, Senate Elections |
For each event listed by a bookmaker, there are multiple betting markets available, each with its own set of odds. Whether it’s sports or not, these markets give players a range of options to bet on.
In sports events, you can bet on the match winner, the number of goals (points, pucks, etc.), or even specific stats like the number of corners. And that’s just scratching the surface of what you can wager on in sports.
When it comes to non-sporting events, the focus usually shifts to predicting the outcome of a specific occasion (like election results or award show winners).
Events in betting can be further classified based on timing:
Additionally, events are often classified by duration:
- Short-term – Bets that are settled within a short period (upcoming matches).
- Long-term (outrights, futures) – Season-long bets, like predicting the overall winner of the Premier League or the NBA Championship.
How Does the Popularity of Events Affect the Betting Margin?
It’s important to note that the popularity of an event influences the betting margin, odds, and betting limits:
Events | Margins | Odds | Max Betting Limits |
Popular (Champions League, World Cup, EPL) | ↓ Low (around 4%) | ↑ High | ↑ High |
Moderately Popular (Turkish Süper Lig) | Moderate (up to 5%) | Average | Moderate |
Less Popular (Mongolian Premier League) | ↑ High (5%+) | ↓ Low | ↓ Low |
Example: Understanding ‘Event’ in Betting
Let’s take the example of betting on The Oscars to understand what a ‘betting event’ is.
Imagine you’re looking at the 96th Academy Awards, and you see that Robert Downey Jr. is nominated for Best Actor for his role in Oppenheimer. This entire award show, specifically the Best Actor category, is considered an ‘event’ in betting terms.
How the Term ‘Event’ is Used in Sports Betting?
The term can be thrown around in different contexts, depending on what you’re discussing.
“There aren’t many volleyball events to bet on today.”
“This event is a lock.”
“I put together a parlay with six different events.”
“There are plenty of outright bets on upcoming events this season.”
“My event is blocked.”

As you can see, the term is flexible. It can mean a whole championship or just a single game, depending on the context.