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Darts has never been more popular. For punters, that means more chances than ever to place a smart bet.
The sport’s professional calendar is built around three types of tournaments.
First, the headline-grabbing majors—the World Championship, World Matchplay, and UK Open—offer high-stakes action and televised drama.
Then come the Pro Tour events, which may fly under the radar but are vital for player rankings. Played across multiple boards, they’re the heartbeat of the sport.
The Premier League is in a category of its own. Running across months in a league format and ending with a thrilling finale at London’s O2 Arena, it’s darts at its most theatrical.
Whether you’re backing a tournament winner or getting into player props and leg markets, the board is wide open. Here’s a closer look at everything you need to know about betting on darts.
Outright Betting
This is essentially picking the winner, and runner-up for each-way purposes, of any given event. Most tournaments are fixed-draw, meaning you can plot each player’s route to the title and evaluate their chances of winning in relation to their price.
Outright betting is also often an opportunity to hunt for big-price winners as some lesser ranked players will start tournaments at 66-1, 100-1, 200-1, 500-1 or at even bigger odds. Obviously, higher-ranked players win more often, and that is usually reflected in the betting.
Seeding typically plays a huge role in the outcomes of tournaments as the top seed will always be housed in the opposite half of the draw to the second seed and so on. This is when it can pay to place an each-way bet, meaning if your player makes the final you will get paid out, even if they don’t lift the trophy.
Match Betting
Match betting in darts is as simple as it gets. You’re just backing who’ll win between two players. Unlike football or other sports, there’s usually no option for a draw (except during the Premier League’s league stage), which often gives punters a clearer edge.
With the tour as competitive as ever, you’ll find plenty of evenly matched contests, but also strong favourites—and that means there’s always potential for a smart upset bet.
Handicap Markets
In a darts match, players must win a set number of legs or sets to claim victory. For example, Premier League fixtures are typically played as best-of-14 legs (first to eight). In these cases, handicap markets often reflect a negative leg count for the favourite.
So, if you back a player with a -3.5 handicap and the final score is 8–3, the adjusted result becomes 4.5–3 in your favour, resulting in a winning bet.
Handicap betting is particularly popular in live darts markets, offering more attractive odds than the standard match winner market.
This becomes especially useful in early-round matchups at major tournaments like the PDC World Championship, where top seeds often face lower-ranked opponents. In these scenarios, the favourites’ odds are typically short, and handicap markets provide better value for punters seeking bigger returns.
Most 180s
One of the most exciting darts markets is betting on who’ll hit the most 180s in a match. It’s simple: pick the player you think will rack up the most maximum scores.
A 180 is the top score possible in one visit—three darts, all on the treble 20.
You can also go big with tournament outrights, betting on which player will finish the entire event with the most 180s. These bets come with longer odds and are great for fans backing power scorers over the long haul.
Highest Checkout
This market allows you to bet on which player will produce the highest single checkout score during the match. The maximum possible checkout in darts is 170—achieved with two treble 20s and a bullseye.
With Bet Builders and Request A Bet features, you can combine specific checkout scores with other match outcomes for even bigger potential returns.
Top 5 Darts Betting Tips
The day of darts being just a game played in British pubs and clubs are gone, with a surge in television interest and a big increase in prize money has seen the popularity of the sport skyrocket all over the world.
With the image of the game adapting and the standard forever improving, darts has quickly established itself as one of the most popular sports in the world.
For many sport fanatics, the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace plays a key role at Christmas and betting turnover continues to increase in line with the sport’s growth.
There are now many high profile tournaments staged all over the world throughout the calendar year, so we have picked out five things that you should factor in before parting with your hard-earned cash.
1. Follow All Events
There are more competitions now than ever before and the PDC are undertaking tours all across Europe, with recent tournaments being staged in the likes of Germany, Denmark, Netherlands and Austria.
When players click into form they tend to hold onto it well and a narrow miss one week can often mean they go one better the next. Keeping in-form players on side can be a profitable exercise.
It is also worth considering that some of these minor events feature relatively unknown prospects that bookmakers haven’t yet got a grasp on, so creating a quick impression on those rookies can often yield a profit.
2. Floor Players Don’t Always Handle the Big Stage
The PDC Players Championship events now take up a big part of the darting calendar but the form of those floor events doesn’t always translate to a TV competition on the big stage.
One fine example of this would be the results of Michael Smith. ‘Bully Boy’ doesn’t win anywhere near as much as he should given the ability he retains.
It is no coincidence that the same old faces win when the cameras are out and a passionate crowd are in attendance. Some just handle the pressure better than others.
3. Crowd Advantage is a Factor
Having the crowd on side can play a key role in the outcome of a match.
Each year, events such as the Dutch Open sees home players punch above their weight and outperform their ranking. Playing in comfortable conditions, with the crowd fully behind you – and against your opponent – counts for a lot in darts.
4. Shorter Formats Can Yield Strange Results
From leg play, to set play and even double-in, double-out, there is something for everyone and some formats lend themselves to an upset more than others.
The shorter the format, the more likely we are to see a surprise result. Punters should always respect the short format – for example a best-of-11 leg contest – and that is when there can be great value in siding with the outsiders.
Set play in the latter stages of the World Championships is when class tends to come to the fore.
5. Take Advantage of the Variety of Side Markets on Offer
Picking the winner can be fun but it is not the be-all and end-all as there are an array of side markets for punters to take advantage of.
A popular market is backing a player to hit the Most 180s, and it is a good market to get involved with because heavy scorers aren’t always respected like they should be.
For example, Van Gerwen is one of the best players in the world but he isn’t a regular maximum hitter as he likes to switch to 19s. The Dutchman is still likely to be strong in this market despite his opponent.
A player doesn’t have to win the game to record the most 180s and there is often value to be had in siding with a big-scoring underdog.
