Major Sporting Events to Bet On

Although the NBA and NHL finals are in full-swing, there are many other big sporting events with global betting appeal taking place over the coming months.

Twenty20 World Cup
The 2009 ICC World Twenty20 is taking place in England through the whole of June, following the success of the inaugural tournament in South Africa in 2007. In contrast to Test and one-day cricket, Twenty20 has made the game more unpredictable, robbing Australia of the key ingredients that have seen it dominate the other versions of the game for the last 15 years.

Reigning Twenty20 champion India is joined by South Africa as odds favorite at this current tournament, both listed at 3.75 by Ladbrokes. New Zealand and Pakistan, both 8.00, and Australia, 9.00, follow. The final takes place on June 21 at Lord's in London.

Wimbledon
With the clay-court season finished, attention turns to the All England Club in London for the world's most prestigious tennis tournament, being held from June 22 to July 5.

The world's top two, Switzerland's Roger Federer and Spain's Rafael Nadal, have both recently shown themselves to be beatable when playing against lower-ranked players, making this year's tournament a little more open than in previous years. Federer leads the betting, 2.25 at Ladbrokes, with Nadal, 3.25, and local Andy Murray, 4.00, not far behind.

As usual, up to 10 players have a big chance of winning the women's singles, led by the Williams sisters Serena, 3.50, and Venus, 4.00, and Russian Maria Sharapova, 7.00.

Major League Baseball
With a third of the season gone, the contenders are set to be separated from the also-rans during a fierce summer of competition.

Perennial champions the New York Yankees predictably lead the betting in the American League - the Yankees are a 3.00 Bet365 favorite, just ahead of arch-rivals the Boston Red Sox at 3.20. The Los Angeles Dodgers, with an MLB-best 39-19 at present, are a clear 3.60 to win the National League.