We are sure that some readers will be scratching their heads, wondering – Netball, what is Netball? It is justifiable for sports gamblers not living in commonwealth countries to wonder about this, as this is a sport predominantly played by women and has not gotten loads of traction elsewhere until recently. That said, per World Netball, around twenty million people play it in over eighty countries. Moreover, around seventy nations have national teams, and there are more than a few highly organized domestic leagues.
From renowned internationally-regulated crypto bookmakers we have used, we know for sure that NetBet, Bet365, and Unibet offer netball betting, and most Australian online gambling sites should, too. So, this is not something super niche regarding wagering, as anyone interested in gambling on this sport can visit Netball Australia’s official site and navigate to a page of approved operators, where they will find a list of companies that have entered into partnership agreements with this organization, and this list includes names like Draftskings, Betfair, Ladbrokes, and many other top, world-renowned gambling operators.
Over the past year or so, we have seen various mediums, such as ABC and CBC, talk about the rise of Netball in England, Canada, Spain, and various other countries. There have also been reports that this sport has become popular in African nations like Uganda and that more and more men are getting into it. Here, we give you a brief rundown of its rules, history, top betting markets, and what problems it faces as it tries to become a sportsbook mainstay. The usual stuff we cover in articles of this kind.
The History of Netball
The creation of Netball has a funny history to it, as it stems from a sports teacher’s misinterpretation of basketball. Clara Gregory Baer, an American physical education instructor who impacted the growth of female sports in the United States quite a bit, created what many called women’s basketball at the time by misunderstanding James Naismith’s court diagram. The principles of the game she set were then built upon by a Swedish physical education teacher – Martina Bergman-Österberg, and they slowly evolved into a separate sport, which in 1960 had standardized internationally playing rules thanks to the establishment of the International Netball Federation, now known as World Netball.
World Netball is this sport’s main global governing body, which was first discussed in 1957 and was founded by representatives from England, New Zealand, Australia, the West Indies, and South Africa. Its headquarters are in Greater Manchester, England, and it is responsible for organizing the Netball World Cup, held every four years.
The Rules of Netball
Netball gets played on a court that is thirty meters long and fifteen meters wide. It gets divided into three equal thirds. A defensive one, a center area, and an attacking region if one is looking at the court from one team’s perspective. At each end of the court, there are basketball-style hoops with no backboards, and in front of them is a semi-circle, similar to the one in handball. The goalposts, as they call them, are 3.05 meters tall each, with a 38-centimeter diameter hoop.
The teams have seven players apiece, and players have roles restricted to certain areas based on their position. Everyone must shoot or pass the ball within three seconds of getting it, and goals can only get scored when someone is within the previously described semi-circle.
The game gets played in four quarters, each lasting fifteen minutes, for a total playing time of an hour per game.
The Appeal of Netball Betting & Top Competitions
As already touched upon above, Netball has primarily been a Commonwealth phenomenon that is slowly building a global fanbase. It appeals chiefly to those into women sports, and people that like wagering on female handball and basketball. The rise of women’s sports in recent years has amplified its visibility, and tactical gameplay seems to be a factor that is contributing to its growing popularity.
Regarding national leagues, without question, the top ones are Australia’s Suncorp Super Netball, UK’s Vitality Netball Superleague, and New Zealand’s ANZ Premiership. On the international level, the Commonwealth Games and Netball World Cup draw the most attention. There is also the Netball Quad Series, which has been running since 2016. It is an annual event featuring four of the world’s top-ranked teams. These are England, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. It is organized by a governing body called SANZEA, formed via an international partnership by these four nations’ Netball organizations.
Netball Betting Markets
These are pretty standard. The simplest and most popular is match winner, where we have totals, the over/under, and handicap betting, or giving one team a virtual head start to even the playing field between two opponents of different levels of quality. Player and team props can be available, and tournament outrights for sure will be at top sportsbooks. Options like a first-quarter winner, highest-scoring quarter, or margin of victory, which are team props, may also be on the table at some sites.
The Pros & Cons of Betting on Netball
Unlike other niche sports, the good thing about Netball is that there are a few high-profile leagues active and enough international events to offer a decent stream of events for wagering during large chunks of the year. The sport features undervalued markets, so those who do their research thoroughly can attain significant returns if they look hard enough for decent odds. On top of this, Netball is what many will call beginner-friendly, as it has pretty straightforward-easy-to-understand rules.
The downsides include that it is not exactly available year-round and is still largely regional. There are fewer experts giving predictions for it. So, not a lot of quality betting tips to guide newbies. The sport also lacks extensive statistical data, to the degree that is available in other sports, like handball, for example. That makes it hard for gamblers to make super-informed betting decisions. Match-fixing potential may also deter serious bettors from it as well, something that all lower-profile sports are susceptible to.
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