Darts Betting Explained: How Luke Littler Changed the Gambling Landscape + TOP Darts Betting Sites

The popularity of darts has been growing steadily since the turn of the century and has exploded in recent times with the emergence of Luke Littler.

The double World Champion burst onto the scene at the 2024 showpiece event as a fresh-faced 16-year-old and captivated the nation with a historic run to the final, only losing to Luke Humphries who was the world’s best player at the time.

Littler’s success kept fresh eyes on the sport and helped generate huge cash injections from broadcasters and sponsors which resulted in the first-ever £1million World Championship – won by the teenage sensation himself.

The majority of darts’ major events have a bookmaker as their headline sponsor with Paddy Power offering up mega money to sponsor the World Championship.

The World Matchplay and Premier League complete the sport’s fabled Triple Crown and are sponsored by Betfred and BetMGM respectively, with other events sponsored by the likes of Ladbrokes, Boyle Sports, BetVictor and Mr Vegas.

Darts has always had a strong, visible relationship with gambling and the nature of the sport proves attractive for those who like a flutter.

The growth of darts betting

Figures from within the industry prove that growth in the sport’s popularity correlate with a betting boom.

Entain, whose brands include a myriad of betting companies such as Ladbrokes, BetMGM and Coral, show that the number of bets on the sport has increased 37% since 2018.

The World Championship, now a staple of the Christmas period that attracts even the most casual fans, has seen a whopping 92% increase in bets placed with the average stake up  by 59%.

The ‘Littler Effect’ has undoubtedly played a big part, and Sky and the PDC have capitalised on the success of other sports as much as possible.

Football is the world’s most popular sport and darts, for better or for worse, has marketed itself towards a football fanbase increasingly to attract a fresh loyal following to propel its boom.

Many of the crowd enjoy a few pints, chant about the Touré brothers and remind every Scottish player about their national team’s struggles on the international stage.

By a distance football is the UK’s most popular sport for betting and this new audience brought to darts have discovered the wonderful and varied world of darts betting.

Since 2018, the number of bets placed on darts has increased by 37%, while betting on the World Championship has surged by 92%.

Endless markets whet the appetite

Darts is contested by Player A vs Player B but within a single game there are countless of possible wagers from match result, 180s, high checkout, average and more.

Unlike many sports there are no draws possible in darts which does make it more predictable compared to football.

Incidentally, analysis from The Athletic showed that only 52% of favourites in the English Premier League are victorious in their match – a stat greatly impacted by the possibility of a draw.

The impossibility of this in darts affects the odds for a match result on offer and in many cases, betting on a player to win a match is simply not worth it.

Heavy favourites involving the game’s top players such as Luke Littler and Luke Humphries can see the players as short as 1/20 or more and unless you fancy the underdog there’s zero value.

Fortunately bookmakers, armed with an arsenal of data, offer tens of markets with many not even dependent on the match result.

Prop bets – a bet on specific in-game events – are ready made for the sport.

Punters can bet on over X amount of 180s in the game if they are looking for greater value or how many three-figure checkouts a player can hit.

The spread can often vary depending on the desire of the punter, but the standard is a line that will typically offer the over/under just under evens.

The line is carefully selected by the bookmakers after considering all factors; the relative 180 ability of the players, the likely distance of the match, how often does a particular player switch to other segments ultimately denying a chance of a maximum score.

Few sports offer as many betting opportunities within a single match as darts, making it uniquely attractive to bookmakers and punters alike

These types of markets prove popular with all types of punters; those who believe they’re one step ahead of the bookies and those who want the quick adrenaline rush every time a player walks towards the board.

A personal favourite is no 180 in the first leg of the match which provides the ultimate rollercoaster in the opening one or two minutes of a match.

Other types of bets can include X number of legs to end on the bull, player handicaps, average line of a player and even more quirky ones.

Paddy Power offered a very generous price for the infamous ‘Ally Pally wasp’ to appear on TV before the end of the World Championship after it had appeared numerous times in the opening stages of the tournament.

You can decide whether it was a poor oversight or a genius marketing ploy by the Irish bookmaker but the near double-figure price landed almost immediately.

Rise of the Modus Super Series

The Modus Super Series launched in 2022 and succeeded the Online Darts Live League that was born during the Covid pandemic.

Top level sport was cancelled throughout the pandemic but darts adapted, pitting players against each other remotely via a video link and allowing punters to gamble.

 This was a bookmaker’s and gambler’s dream; with sport cancelled there were fewer opportunities to gamble but online darts paved the way for a new world in the sport.

Previously punters wanting to bet on darts typically had to wait until a PDC event rolled around or less often, a WDF (then BDO) major tournament.

Now with the birth of online darts and the subsequent Modus Super Series punters could gamble every week to satisfy their appetite.

The players involved are amateur players who do not hold a PDC Tour Card, and some are almost completely unknown.

What’s more, the format is incredibly short with the winner only requiring four legs.

This, combined with the amateur level of the players, creates unpredictably with not only match results but also prop bets such as most 180s.

In turn this results in volatility with the odds offered compared to top level darts.

For gamblers in the know, it’s a great opportunity to ‘beat the bookies.’

There is a wealth of data that exists for the game’s top players, but darting gurus may benefit from knowledge of amateur players that the bookmakers may overlook.

For the bookies they can inevitably capitalise on casual gamblers who may be looking to roll the dice on the volatile, highly unpredictable nature of super short format darts at an amateur level.

The Modus Super Series takes place almost all year round ensuring that there’s always an opportunity to bet on the sport compared to previous eras.

Aside from gambling the tournament provides a great platform for amateur players to boost their exposure, experience and bank balance that they otherwise would not get.

Legends of the game such as Simon Whitlock have graced the oche at its home in Portsmouth, as has then unknown 16-year-old Luke Littler.

Themed weeks also give a further boost to the women’s game and international players such as Kenyan World Championship hero David Munyua.

Incidentally Munyua pulled off one of the greatest World Championship shocks in history back in December with a handful of lucky punters cashing in on huge odds offered.

The Kenyan was sponsored by Andy Robson – a famous betting tipster – after his historic win and 12 months earlier title sponsor Paddy Power covered travel costs for Bahamas star Rashad Sweeting who captivated Ally Pally.

These are further examples of how strong and impactful the sport’s relationships are with betting.

Darts and gambling will always be entwined

As darts’ popularity continues to surge the money punters stake on the sport will grow.

The markets pre-match are often not short of options for those studying for value, but darts is the perfect sport to entice the in-play bettors.

From most 180s, next leg winner to even the colour of the next double hit, the sport has something for everyone in a way that others don’t.

With gambling half an eye must always be kept on legislation.

As mentioned, the majority of darts’ major tournaments are sponsored by gambling companies but with government constantly regulating the industry this may not always be the case.

When the BetMGM Premier League travelled to Belgium this year no reference to the title sponsor could be seen in the arena due to local laws.

Despite teenage Luke Littler lifting the Paddy Power World Championship and BetMGM Premier League twice, the 19-year-old is limited by UK laws in how much he can be featured to promote the companies.

He dons their patch on his shirt but is outlawed from appearing in ads or playing a significant role in their social media videos until he’s at least 25.

If regulation does tighten, it will be interesting to see the effect on the relationship between darts and betting but until then expect it to go from strength to strength.

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