Boxing has an age-old association with betting. Other than the various forms of animal racing, it’s tough to think of a sport that has such close ties to the bookmakers. Before every fight, the records are presented just as prominently as the odds – especially when it comes to bouts staged in the United States.

Much of this comes down to Las Vegas being one of the great hosts of prizefights in the late 20th Century. In Sin City, one of the few places in the US that allowed sports betting, many legendary fights took place, including those between Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns, Hearns and Sugar Ray Leonard, and Larry Holmes vs Ken Norton.

The list put together by this Las Vegas Review-Journal piece could be ten times the size to account for all the great boxing matches put on by Sin City over the decades. Perhaps as a result, not only is betting closely tied to boxing, but so is casino gaming, with even modern online bettors preferring options with casino games.

Betting and Casino Gaming Going Hand-in-Hand

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Of course, Las Vegas – and many of the venues that have hosted world-class boxing events – are also very closely tied to casinos. Caesars Palace, MGM Grand, the Las Vegas Convention Center, Sphere, Orleans Arena, and the T-Mobile Arena have all played host to premier boxing cards over the years.

Even if not purely for boxing’s long association with betting and casinos, people generally prefer to have plenty of choices when they sign up for online platforms. In the UK, online gambling makes for £6.5 billion in gross gambling yield, with the glut of that coming from online casino gaming.

Casinos generate £4 billion of the total each year, per the most recent Gambling Commission report, £3.2 million of which comes from slot gaming. Next, £2.3 billion comes from betting, with £1.1 billion of that being via football betting slips. People clearly enjoy casino gaming alongside their sports betting.

Best Platforms Combining the Two

With casino gaming being the more popular of the two forms of gambling, many who join platforms will first opt for the casino bonus before checking out the betting offers. Right now, the very best for sign up bonuses is Sky Casino. As the Sky Casino review details, it ranks number one for the calibre of its welcome bonus for first-timers not willing to risk any money upfront.

From there, its sister sports betting platform, Sky Bet, ranks very well among boxing bettors. The key to a good boxing betting site is its selection of bets. Boxing is a pure sport contested by just two people, so on the face of it, there isn’t a lot to bet on.

Where a site like Sky Bet separates itself is with its stacks of markets. In a fight, you’ll find options for a draw, each boxer to win, win by KO or TKO, or win by decision, as well as several options for rounds and round groupings. Further, there’ll be markets for double chance betting, the fight to go 12 rounds, and specials on odd and even round finishes.

As it stands, Sky offers the best boxing betting and a rather strong casino highlighted by its very welcoming welcome bonus for new players.