Betting on horse racing has always been a popular way for those who follow the sport to get closer to it and inject more excitement into races. While this may have involved placing bets physically at a racecourse or bookmakers in the past, changing times have seen new trends in betting habits.

Online sportsbooks that offer horse racing betting are now arguably the most popular way to wager on this sport. Aided by betting shop closures due to COVID-19, the 2021 Grand National race saw more than $134m in bets made online. This was a record-breaking amount that marked an increase over the amount bet online in the same race in 2019. #

With the increasing dominance of online betting across racing as a whole over the last few years, this seems to confirm that betting on this sport will continue to shift online in the future. But why is this true?

Plenty of secure sportsbooks with lots of markets/bonuses to use

The continued shift toward online betting is being driven by the influx of safe, secure sportsbooks to bet with. These online platforms offer extras that physical bookies don’t ¬– such as more markets to bet on, better odds in general and cool bonuses ¬– which explains their dominance. There are even fantasy sports betting sites to enjoy now that enable you to bet on this sport in a different way. Fantasy Punter is one such site and a great way to test your racing knowledge and inject more thrills into racing.

Convenience is a big plus

This is one of the major reasons for the shift toward online horse race betting in recent times and why it will continue to head this way in the future. The simple fact is that betting online is more convenient and less of a hassle. When betting via the internet, you can do it from the comfort of your own home or wherever you like with mobile apps. There is no need to dress up, pay to travel to a meeting, or pay to get into a racecourse like Aintree. Online betting is also more convenient than having to trudge down to the local bookie!

People are used to doing things online now

This could be the secret weapon horse racing betting online has that will help it grow massively in the future. In simple terms, the last couple of years have changed our habits and made us live more of our lives over the internet. Even if people can go back to their local bookies or a racecourse, many actually prefer betting over the internet now. While convenience is a big reason for this, many people will also simply prefer online betting from home for personal reasons, such as safety.

2021 Grand National shows a clear trend

The record-breaking takings online sportsbooks made at the 2021 Grand National shows that a shift toward internet betting on this sport is well underway. It also seems clear that this trend will continue in the future.