Top 10 US sports betting events for 2026

With 2025 winding down, it’s time to turn the page to a historic year in sports. While there are countless matchups to handicap, 10 specific events stand out as essential for any sports bettor. That includes one marquee event making its return to the U.S. for the first time in over three decades.

But let’s start on the ice.

(All odds provided by bet365 Sportsbook & Racebook)

10. Stanley Cup
Scheduled for June 2026, the Stanely Cup Finals has a clear frontrunner with the Colorado Avalanche at +450. The next lowest odds are both the Carolina Hurricanes and the Florida Panthers at +750.

Colorado has been by far the best hockey team in the NHL. They have seven more points than any other team in the league to go along with their NHL-best +38 goal differential.

It’s pretty hard to stop a team that is averaging four goals per game and it doesn’t come to anyone’s surprise that they score at will with guys like Cale Makar, Martin Necas, and Nathan MacKinnon.

9. The Masters
Any sports fan knows the time is coming when they start to hear that Masters theme song playing during CBS commercials in the months leading up to the event.

Yes, the TGL (Tomorrow’s Golf League) is gearing up to start it’s second season in a few weeks but the biggest golf event of every year will take place from 9-12 Apri
l at the iconic Augusta National in Georgia.
The betting lines tell us that Scottie Scheffler (+360) and Rory McIlroy (+650) are the two heavy favorites to lift the trophy as the next closest to them is Bryson DeChambeau at +1500.

McIlroy is the defending champ of this event so he knows how to play the course well, but any golfer will tell you, it is a daunting layout and the greens are some of the hardest in the world.

8. World Baseball Classic
Taking place once every four years, the World Baseball Classic returns this March.

Japan took home the last title on the back of superstar Shohei Ohtani as he struck out the USA’s Mike Trout for the final out in a 3-2 victory.

Those two teams have the best odds to win it all with Japan at +300 and the U.S. at +155. The U.S. is putting out a massive lineup headlined by Aaron Judge, Mookie Betts, Mike Trout and Bryce Harper.

If it is another U.S. vs. Japan final, every baseball fan’s eyes will be glued to their screen considering the suspense and drama the last matchup brought us.

Here are your finalized pools and schedule for the 2026 #WorldBaseballClassic.

The Championship Game will be played March 17, 2026 at loanDepot Park in Miami.

Full ticketing information for the 2026 tournament is available at https://t.co/h4Fi0dLx07. pic.twitter.com/t8q8Nopf4k
— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) April 9, 2025

7. The Winter Olympics
Speaking of every four years, the Winter Olympics is right around the corner as February will bring the world’s best athletes together in Italy to compete across a number of both team and individual events.

Bettors will be able to place wagers on these events, and as always, the Olympics are a massively viewed occurrence.

Norway were big winners in Beijing in 2022 with having the most total medals (37) and most gold medals (16).

6. Kentucky Derby
On 2 May, Churchill Downs will host “The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports” when the gates lift the Kentucky Derby gets underway.

The field won’t be announced for some time but there is never a shortage of betting options when it comes to horse racing, especially for “The Running of the Roses.”

5. NBA Finals
Can the Oklahoma City Thunder repeat as NBA champs? Well, the books seem to think it is very possible as they are the clear favorite at +170 with the second-best odds being the Denver Nuggets at +600.

Currently, the Thunder are on pace to break the 2015-2016 Golden State Warriors single season win record (73) with a 17-1 record so far this season.

It is a long season, but the team has a great chemistry and rhythm going so they could easily find themselves back in the finals in June.

4. College Football Playoff
The College Football Playoffs start in less than a month as 12 teams will battle it out to advance to the Championship Game on 19 January at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

The Ohio State Buckeyes (+175) are looking to go back-to-back, currently the No. 1 team in the nation and an undefeated 11-0 record with the always anticipated matchup against Michigan coming up Saturday.

OSU’s Big Ten rival Indiana (+500) is also in the mix along with Texas A&M (+700) and Notre Dame (+900).

3. Super Bowl LX
The Los Angeles Rams made a statement last night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football with a big 34-7 win. Behind the leadership of QB Matthew Stafford, the Ram are the betting favorite to win the Super Bowl at +400.

This defense >>>> pic.twitter.com/CiGL3X5FVC
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) November 24, 2025

A shock out of the AFC is the top-seeded New England Patriots who have a 10-2 record. The second-year QB Drake Maye has the offense rolling and the team has a league-best nine-game winning streak.

Super Bowl LX takes place on 8 February at Levi’s Stadium in California. We already are accustomed to the massive amounts of props that come with this yearly event. From the coin toss, to the color of the Gatorade poured on the winning coach’s head, there is something that will grab every bettors eye to toss into a parlay.

2. March Madness
The opening Thursday and Friday of March Madness is always pure chaos. On 19 and 20 March, there will be 32 games played and a ridiculous number of brackets will surely be busted.

The Final Four will be played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis from 4-6 April and Purdue (+900) is the favorite in the opening stages of the season.

Last year’s winner, the Florida Gators saw several players make it to the NBA and the transfer portal plays a massive role in college sports now so their roster had some shakeups and sit at +2000 to repeat this season.

1. World Cup
Thirty-nine teams have qualified for the 2026 World Cup, held in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Despite taking place every four years, this World Cup will be different for a couple of reasons.

It will be the first tournament co-hosted by three countries, and it will also have an expanded team pool with 48 teams competing for the trophy.

The opening match will take place on 11 June and the World Cup will run through 19 July. Since not all teams have qualified, lines on bet365 are not currently out.

According to bet365, Spain (+450), England (+600) and France (+700) are the top three per the odds. The host countries are a little further down the list with the U.S. at +8000, Mexico +8000 and Canada sitting at +15000.