Cricket Betting Guide for 2024

Cricket BallCricket betting provides fans who know a lot about the sport the opportunity to benefit from their knowledge. Just by making wagers on the matches, well-informed fans can start making some cash. You can use sportsbooks to wager on the sport, or you can take advantage of Cricket betting sites to get it done. In either case, it’s important that you understand the ins and outs of the sport and the type of wagers you can make.

In terms of international popularity, cricket definitely stands out as one of the top sports in the entire world. While it might be relatively foreign to those in the United States and North America in general, the sport attracts intense interest in most of the other continents across the globe. And that interest often translates into betting interest at sportsbooks and real money online betting websites.

In the following article, we’re here to help you understand how it all works with a cricket betting guide. We’ll talk a little bit about the different formats used for the sport and how different bets can bring you different odds of winning. And we’ll also explain how to bet on cricket and the different ways you can bet on cricket in terms of where to place your bets, while also answering some important questions about cricket betting.

Best Cricket Betting Sites

We wanted to provide you with our list of the best online cricket betting sites to kick things off. These sites have been ranked and reviewed by our team of experts, and we can guarantee that they will offer you the best cricket betting experience on the internet.

Rank Gambling Site Deposit Bonus Get Started
#1
BetUS
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#2
BetOnline Sports
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#3
MyBookie
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#4
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Beginner’s Guide to Betting Cricket

If you’re new to the sport of cricket or have only seen highlights of it on different sports or television shows, you might be at a loss on how to wager on the sport. It might just look like a lot of people batting balls around and running in different directions without much rhyme or reason. Luckily, there are enough similarities to American baseball that you can probably get a good feel for it quickly.

Just like in baseball, the team with the most runs scored wins. There are outs which the team of defense must accumulate in order to get back to the point where they are batting again. Instead of batters and pitchers, cricket features batsmen and hurlers, but the concept is generally the same.

There are different sets of rules for different types of cricket matches held around the world, and we’ll talk about them in a bit. But for now, let’s talk about the different bets that can be made on cricket, so that you can get a hang of cricket odds, the risk involved and the possible return on your wagers.

Bets You Can Place on Cricket

Match Winner

This is the easiest of all wagers to understand when learning how to bet on cricket. You’re being asked to pick the winner of a match between two sides. If you can do that, you’ll return some money from what you originally wagered.

When you see the cricket betting odds for a match between two sides for the first time, you might be at a loss to understand how they work. Most American sportsbooks and betting websites will base these odds on something known as the moneyline. The moneyline helps to even out two sides who might be different in terms of talent.

Think about it this way: Imagine if there were a match between two sides and one was full of experienced, talented pros and the other side was made up of inexperienced players. If that were the case and those accepting the bets were to just give the same payback to whoever wagered, the bettors would clean up by just betting on the better team. The moneyline prevents that from happening and attempts to even out the playing field, so to speak, with cricket betting lines.

For example, imagine an international match listed with the following moneyline:

England vs New Zealand
Cricket Moneyline Bet
England
-135
New Zealand
+150

Those numbers and symbols might not make much sense to you, but they’re actually pretty easy to understand. First of all, the minus sign indicates the favorite in the match, which is the team considered most likely to win. The plus sign indicates the underdog, the team that the oddsmaker feels is less likely to win.

As for the numbers, they are based on the concept of $100 as the kind of foundational bet. In the case of this match, a wager of $135 on England will return you winnings of $100 in England wins. And a bet of $100 on New Zealand will return you winnings of $150 if New Zealand wins.

It’s important to understand that you don’t need to wager $100 or $135. You could bet more or less, depending on any predetermined limits set by the website or sportsbook in question. The ratio set by the betting line would still hold true no matter how much you wagered.

Cricket Spread Bets

If you’ve ever bet on a football game in the United States, you’re probably familiar with the concept of spread betting. It is another way in which oddsmakers can even out two sides to ensure equal cricket betting on both sides of the match. This might be a bit rarer to find in cricket betting for real money, but spreads are available.

Spread betting also works with plus and minus. But in this case, those symbols are referring to the number of runs, showing the difference between the winning team and the losing team at the end of the match. Take a look at this example:

Capitals vs Hyderabad
Cricket Spread Bet
Delhi Capitals
-20 (-110)
Sunrisers Hyderabad
+20 (-110)

What you’re seeing here is that the Capitals are favored by 20 runs. If they win the match and you bet on them, they must win by 21 runs or more for you to win the bet. They are then said to have covered the spread.

If you wager on the Sunrisers Hyderabad, you can still win the wager even if the team loses the match. As long as they lose the match by less than the 20-run spread, you would win the bet.

Spread bets at cricket betting websites and sportsbooks will often come with a moneyline attached as well. Because the spread is in place to even out the sides, however, the moneyline will likely be very close to 100 either way. Again, you might have a harder time finding spread betting for cricket because the scoring system isn’t as cut and dry as it is in American team sports.

Cricket Tournament Bets

Many of the top international competitions in the sport of cricket are set up as tournaments. What this means is that two sides will match up with each other and one match will win. They will then move on to face another side, while the losing team is out of the tournament.

In this way, teams will be eliminated until the final two teams remain, with the winner of that match being the tournament winner. With a tournament wager, you’d be trying to pick the winner of the overall tournament. And the good news is that it can pay off much better than a simple match win.

After all, if the tournament was comprised of eight or 16 teams, you’d have to pick among all those possibilities for a winner. It’s likely that, even on the moneyline, the team considered the favorite would give you more money back than what you wagered.

Series Bets

Series bets in cricket betting are based on the fact that many competitions are set up a series of matches between two teams. They might play a best of three matches contest, where the winner isn’t decided until one team wins twice. A series bet in online cricket betting would be set up with a moneyline much the same as a single match.

Completed Matches

Cricket PlayerWe’ll get into this more when we talk about the types of cricket there are, but there are occasionally cricket matches that are set up to take place over a longer period of time, perhaps an entire day. These matches require more “innings” of play, which is the length of time where one side is batting. As a result, they can sometimes go for hours until it’s no longer feasible to continue playing.

Many real money cricket betting sites will actually give you the option of betting on an outcome where a match doesn’t get complete in the given time. This kind of cricket bet can give you better win odds than what you would get if you were making a match bet on one side to win.

Over/Under Bets on Cricket

This is another concept which is popular in sports wagering and can be applied to cricket betting online. The oddsmaker will set a number for how many runs will be scored in a particular match by both sides when all is said and done. You can then bet that the actual number will either go over or under that amount.

Over/under bets can also be limited to a single inning of play but most of the time they are for the entire game. In any case, it’s a good way to speculate on a match without picking a winner.

Player Prop Bets

Up to this point, we have only talked about cricket wagers relating to teams or sides. But there are also wagers you can place when betting on cricket games that focus on the individual players on each team and the statistics they compile. These are known as player prop bets, and they are pretty common in sports betting where teams or sides are involved.

With a prop bet in cricket, you’d be choosing one player on either side that you think will perform the best, either as batsmen or hurler. The good thing about player prop bets is that you can get more payback on a single wager than if you were simply betting on the winner of the match. With the number of players on both sides, there are many possibilities, which is why this wager can be a lucrative one.

Futures Bets

When learning how to bet on cricket you’ll find that futures wagers are another common aspect of betting on cricket. The idea behind it is that you would make a wager on how a side or a player is going to perform in some event well down the road. At the time you make the futures wager, the cricket betting odds you get will most likely be much more favorable to you than they would if you were betting right before the match is being played.

Why is that the case?

Well, let’s say that you feel good about a specific country’s chances to win the Cricket World Cup, which is one of the top international competitions. At the time you make the futures wager, their odds are at +10000, meaning you’d be winning $100 for every $1 you bet.

Let’s say that the team then goes on a hot streak for a few months leading into the World Cup. Chances are that their Cricket odds to win will drop as more bettors get on the bandwagon. That makes your original wager much more valuable to you.

Types of Cricket Matches You Can Bet On

Cricket PlayerIt’s important to understand how the different types of cricket work, since that information will affect how you bet on cricket. There are three major formats in play. Take a look.

Test Matches

This is the oldest format of cricket, one that has been in existence since the 19th century. It is a test of endurance, since the matches are spread over a five-day period. Because of that, issues like weather and field conditions can cause much more impact on this type of match that they would in other cricket formats.

ODIs

ODIs stands for One Day International events, which pretty much tells you what they’re all about. These types of matches came about in the past few decades when cricket enthusiasts sought to streamline the sport for younger audiences. With this kind of match, you’ll know the outcome in a much quicker fashion than with test matches.

Twenty20 Internationals

The idea here is that each side is allowed 20 overs before the other side gets their crack at the bat. With this format in play, matches can be shortened to just three hours or so. That makes this the fastest-paced of all cricket formats, which allows for excellent cricket betting opportunities.

A popular Twenty20 competition is the Indian Premier League where eight teams come together to battle it out for a 7 million dollar prize pool.

How to Bet on Cricket

Now that you know what cricket is all about, as well as the different types of bets that you can make, you might be anxious to get started with making wagers. But you can’t do that until you learn about the different outlets for betting that you have in terms of where to bet on cricket. And it basically comes down to land-based sportsbooks and cricket betting sites.

Land-Based Sportsbooks

A sportsbook is just a fancy name for a physical location that is legally allowed to take sports wagers (and pay you back for them). In the United States, most sportsbooks are part of casino operations. You are more likely to find sportsbooks that are standalone establishments in other parts of the world like Europe.

Betting on cricket at a sportsbook is a relatively simple process.

You just have to go up to one of the teller’s windows and explain what it is that you want. Be sure to include the type of bet you want to make, the amount that you want to bet, and identity of the side or player you’re choosing.

Sportsbooks also include self-bet kiosks to help you place your bets on your own. When you make a bet at a sportsbook, you should always make sure that your ticket represents exactly what you want before walking away with it. If you win, you can bring that same ticket back and claim your winnings.

Cricket Betting Sites

When betting on cricket at a top sports betting website, you’ll basically go through the same process as betting at a sportsbook in terms of actually placing the bets. The big difference is that you’ll need to have an account at a gambling website to actually take part. That process is pretty simple to handle, even if you’re new to online gambling.

Here is how to do it step by step:

Choose a Cricket Betting Site
This is an important step in that you’ll be choosing a site which you’ll have to trust with your gambling money. Make sure to do your research (and check out our list of the top sites below).
Sign Up and Create an Account
This usually requires giving some personal information to get you started, and you’ll usually have to confirm via email or text. You’ll also have to come up with a password so that you can always get into the site and access your account.
Fund Your Cricket Betting Account
This is the point where you’ll enter your credit card information and/or cryptocurrency passwords. With this in place, you can create bankrolls for the games that you want to play.
Claim Your Real Money Bonuses
Promo codes might be advertised by Canadian gambling sites in question for potential bonuses. Make sure you don’t miss out on these opportunities, since they can add to your bottom line.
Place Your Cricket Bets
From there, it’s just a matter of finding the cricket bets you want to make by navigating though the different options. You’ll just be clicking on how much you want to bet, which side you want to bet, what type of bet you want to make, and so on.

As we said above, it is extremely important that you choose the site you’re going to use for your cricket wagering with great care. Here are the sites that we highly recommend for your real money wagers:

Tips for Betting on Cricket

  • Check the weather. When conditions on the field worsen due to rain or wind, it can have a sharp effect on which side is better equipped to win. It can also severely affect the over/under wagers, since it can make it more difficult to score runs in those conditions.
  • Follow the form. Teams can get hot or cold in cricket, just as in any other sport. Knowing which teams are going into a particular match on a streak, one way or the other, can be a good way to predict the outcome.
  • Look out for injuries. Cricket, just like any other team sport, requires extreme physical activity from its participants, which can in turn lead to players getting hurt. If that happens to one of the key players on a side, it can certainly impact the outcome.
  • Heed personnel changes. Especially within cricket leagues, it isn’t that uncommon for top players to switch to different teams occasionally. Many of the best players are in high demand, so you should make sure that you know who is on each roster before you make your wagers.
  • Do your research. This pretty much sums up all the information we talked about in the previous items and is the basis of learning how to bet on cricket. You should always know as much as possible about the bets you make, regardless of the sport in question.

Cricket Betting Resources

Cricket Betting Sites

Cricket may not be as popular as some other sports in the United States, but American bettors still have access to the very best cricket betting sites on the web. The top-ranked sites in the industry offer competitive lines and comprehensive coverage of all major cricket leagues and events taking place anywhere in the world. From Twenty20 competitions to the Cricket World Cup to matches taking place in the UK and India, there are countless cricket betting opportunities out there if you know where to look.

Cricket Betting Apps

Betting online is all about convenience. So, it makes sense that the best cricket betting sites available today have all developed their own corresponding mobile apps that you can easily download to your smartphone or tablet. As a result, it has never been easier to bet on cricket or any other sport via a mobile device. You can conveniently shop for lines, manage your sports betting bankroll, and even place bets on cricket using any of the top-ranked mobile cricket betting apps available today.

Cricket Betting Strategy

There is real money to be made betting on cricket online. If you are interested in learning a few proven methods that can help you improve your results and ultimately turn a profit, check out our comprehensive cricket betting strategy guide. This page details a few handy tips you can use to your advantage to help you become a consistently profitable cricket bettor.

Cricket Legends

As is the case in every major sport, the game of cricket has seen its fair share of legends over the years. Names like Donald Bradman, Sachin Tendulkar, and WG Grace have been incredibly instrumental in cricket’s massive surge in popularity since the sport’s inception way back in the 16th century. Our cricket legends page offers a deeper dive into some of the most legendary figures of cricket.

Cricket Betting FAQ

Is It Legal to Bet on Cricket Online?

As long as you’re wagering with an authorized gambling website or sportsbook, you shouldn’t have any problems. But you should know that, even if you somehow make your bets with an illegal operation, the legal burden falls on those taking the bets, not those making them. The bottom line is that you shouldn’t have to worry about any legal ramifications for betting on cricket.

Can I Bet Real Money on Cricket at Online Betting Sites?

You can as long as you fund your gambling accounts. That means that the site in question must accept your method of funding, and that your method of funding doesn’t prohibit online gambling. We suggest sites with many funding options so that you can be in the clear.

Where Can I Bet on Cricket?

If you have the ability to do so, you can bet directly on cricket through a sportsbook located in a casino or standing alone. But it might be more convenient for you to use a gambling website to wager on cricket. That allows you to bet from wherever you are.

What Are the Best Cricket Betting Sites?

The best sites are ones that are reliable, offer big bonuses, and promise fast payback when you win. These sites also offer mobile wagering for your total convenience. If you head back up to the top of this page, you’ll find our list of the best online cricket betting sites.

Should I Use More Than One Site for Cricket Betting?

That depends on your preference. If you use more than one cricket betting site, you can take advantage of multiple bonuses for signing up. But it also means spreading your personal and financial information around to different locations, which might be uncomfortable for some.

Can I Bet on Cricket Matches Even After They’ve Started?

It depends on whether or not the site you’re using allows live betting. Live betting means that you can make wagers on matches already underway. Just keep in mind that the cricket betting odds will be adjusted by the oddsmakers to reflect what has already happened in the match to that point.