A little-known fact is that USA played in the first-ever international cricket game against the USA back in 1844. As with most English-speaking countries, interest in cricket betting has been on the rise in USA ever since. Read on as we’ll show you the best cricket sportsbooks, how to bet, popular types of bets and more on major events from the IPL to The Ashes.
Before placing your first bet, we’ll show you how to read betting odds in cricket. For online cricket betting in USA, decimal odds are most popular. Our example below shows the 2021/22 Ashes series winner odds between Australia and England.
The Ashes holders and hosts Australia are big betting favourites as their price is smallest. To work out how much you could win, you need to times your stake total by the betting odds amount. So, a C$10 bet on Australia at 1.25 would see you claim C$12.50 in total, or C$2.50 in profit.
If you were to back underdogs England to win with the same C$10 bet, then your profit would be a much higher C$55 – or C$65 in total with your stake back.
Try out more betting combinations and find out the implied probability for each with our cricket odds calculator below. You can also convert odds to the American moneyline (eg -400) or British fractional (1/4) styles.
We’ll now take you through some of the most popular and best cricket bets to take in any form of the game…
This bet is simply for which team will win a game of cricket. Some sportsbooks may call this a cricket moneyline if there are only two outcomes, while others will phrase it as ‘match winner’. For Test and List A games in particular, you’ll also find odds for there to be a draw/tie.
Who will be the top batsman or bowler on a team in a game, innings (if it's a Test), series or overall at a tournament? Whoever scores the most runs or gets the best bowling figures in these markets is the winner.
Cricket prop bets are for markets that occur within a game. These include ‘player to score most 4s or 6s’, ‘highest opening partnership’, ‘method of 1st dismissal’, as well as cricket over/under runs markets.
You’ll find a number of cricket specials to bet on, including ‘who’ll be man of the match’ and even ‘who’ll win the coin toss’, which unsurprisingly will always be 50/50.
Cricket futures bets are for ongoing markets that you can bet on before and during a tournament or series. These are where you’ll find cricket World Cup odds for the winner or even to reach a certain stage like the final.
Live cricket betting is hugely popular due to the slower pace of the games, especially in the longer forms of the sport like for Tests and 50-over games. You’ll be able to bet on games while they’re happening, and place regular pre-game bets as well as unique ones such as ‘next wicket’. Check out our live betting page to learn more.
The IPL was an instant hit in cricket when it was founded in 2008, being held in cricket-mad India. From 2022, 10 teams will battle it out to be champions, after a double round-robin and playoffs stages.
Due to its lucrative auction, where players can earn millions, it attracts the world’s best and most exciting cricketers each year. IPL betting is one of the most popular in cricket as a result. Other prominent club T20 competitions include the Big Bash, T20 Blast, Caribbean Premier League and Global T20 USA.
Another 20-over competition, but this time at international level. T20 World Cup betting is available for both the men and women’s events, which are held in different years and countries.
The men’s 2021 T20 World Cup is hosted in the UAE and Oman for the first time. It features 16 teams including current champions the West Indies, as well as favourites India, England, Australia, New Zealand and talented outsiders Afghanistan.
Cricket World Cup betting is also hugely popular, although fans will only be able to enjoy this 50-over tournament every four years. The next edition takes place in October 2023 in India.
You’ll be able to take advantage of cricket World Cup winner odds already in the futures markets of sportsbooks. This is the best time to bet if you fancy a current outsider with big odds to improve before 2023.
Simply the biggest spectacle in Test match cricket. The Ashes has been played between England and Australia’s top players since 1882, and the showdown in the current era is as fierce as ever.
It is played across five matches, to form the series, with the winner claiming the famous (and tiny) Urn trophy until the next occasion. The 2021/22 Ashes will take place in Australia from December 8 until January 18.
One of the newest competitions in cricket, The Hundred even has its own format. As its name suggests, it is played across 100 balls per innings and is made up of eight English and Welsh men’s and women’s teams who play simultaneously.
The first edition got off to a rocky start as it was postponed from 2020 to 2021 due to Covid-19, but the Southern Brave (men) and Oval Invincibles (women) teams eventually claimed the inaugural titles.
We’ve picked out some of the highest profile international and club cricket competitions coming up in 2021 and 2022, which will all be available to wager on at the best cricket betting sites:
Cricket odds are all well and good, but without attractive bonuses you might feel short-changed by a sportsbook. Promotions are essential nowadays. All the best cricket betting sites should offer these three types of bonus:
If you own an Android or Apple smartphone and tablet, then you can download betting apps for free. Alternatively, you can do online cricket betting in USA on a mobile version of the site.
The best betting apps for cricket and other mobile sites are featured on the top of this page, and display the biggest range of markets and top betting odds.
Our experts recommend certain sites for cricket betting in USA, but what do these all have in common? It's the following criteria:
Yes, cricket betting in USA is completely legal. As long as you are playing at a legitimate cricket betting site, such as the ones we recommend, and are of legal gambling age in USA.
We’ve picked out the following as the best sites for betting on cricket:
Simply sign up to your chosen sportsbook, such as the ones recommended at the top of this page, head to the sports and cricket section, pick a market to add to your bet slip, enter your stake and then confirm the bet.
The most popular cricket odds and bet types to gamble on include:
Cricket handicap betting, or spread betting, is not as popular in cricket as in other sports such as hockey and soccer. But sportsbooks who do offer the market effectively level the two teams by giving the underdog a head start.
For example, if favourites England were playing Ireland, they could be given a handicap of say -30.5 runs, meaning they have to win by more than that amount to win the bet. This market would be more effective in live cricket betting, once a team has batted and set a total.
