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Table tennis wasn’t always a popular betting sport, but a lot has changed in the past few years. When major sports were put on ice in early 2020, the only sports that kept going were ones that didn’t require physical contact or depend on large crowds.
Table tennis fit that category perfectly. And without any NFL, NBA or MLB action, sports bettors caught on.
As things normalized, though, sportsbooks found that table tennis odds stayed popular. Competitions like the WTTC, Table Tennis World Cup and ITTF World Tour (now called World Table Tennis) kept (and keep) drawing bettor interest.
You can find table tennis betting odds regularly posted at all legal online sportsbooks in Florida. Here’s how to get started betting on it.
Best table tennis betting sites in Florida
How to bet on table tennis online
You can bet on table tennis in Florida through several licensed sports betting sites or sportsbook apps. If you’ve never bet online before, you’ll need to choose a sportsbook, create an account and deposit money into it before placing bets.
Here’s a step-by-step guide explaining the whole process:
- Click the link on this page for the corresponding licensed betting site in Florida.
- Start the process of creating an account by clicking on Sign Up or, if you wish to bet on your phone, do this after downloading and installing the sportsbook’s app.
- Fill out a registration form containing some of your personal info like full name, address, date of birth, etc.
- While registering, check to see if there is a field through which you can claim that sportsbook’s welcome bonus.
- Activate your account and go to the deposit page.
- Choose a deposit method and type in your deposit amount.
- Once the deposit is through, browse the sportsbook’s list of sports to find table tennis.
- Browse through all the available live and pre-match markets and start creating your betting slip.
Why bet on table tennis?
Although table tennis has increased in popularity over the last couple of years, the sport is still not exactly synonymous with betting. As someone who may never have placed a bet on table tennis, you might wonder what makes betting on this sport worth your time. Here are three good reason:
1. Year-round action
Similar to tennis, table tennis tournaments take place throughout the entire year. There are no long breaks between big competitions. Even when the calendar is devoid of big tournaments, you can find many smaller ones to bet on.
2. Great for live betting
Table tennis matches are very dynamic, consisting of 3 to 5 games (or 4 to 7 games in a best-of-seven), with each game lasting until a player reaches 11 points (or a difference of two points from 10-10 onwards). This means that the number of markets for live betting is very extensive, as you can bet on things like who wins the next game, race to a certain amount of points in the game and even individual points.
3. Easier to find value
People who follow table tennis closely will have an easier time finding value. Sportsbooks do their best to keep odds and betting lines realistic. Still, since there are not many expert table tennis oddsmakers out there (at least not as many when compared to football or basketball), the odds may sometimes be higher than they should. This presents an excellent opportunity to make a profit.
Common types of table tennis bets
Even if you’re not familiar with table tennis betting, the betting markets you’ll find on any given match won’t differ much from most other sports. The three main betting markets for table tennis include:
- Moneyline — This is the most fundamental bet in the sport, letting you pick who wins the match outright.
- Totals (over/under) — Pick how many total points will be scored in a match. Or more precisely, predicting whether the total number of points will be lower or higher than a suggested number (for example, 75.5).
- Handicap — An excellent bet for when one player or team is heavily favored to win. The handicap gives the underdog a certain number of games in advance, like 1.5, for instance. So a bet on them will be successful if they lose by fewer than the number of games posted.
If you’re too impatient to sit through an entire match, you can make all of the same bets on the first game. Naturally, the handicap bet in this scenario will relate to points and not games, while you also may find a separate handicap market for points in a single game.
Other popular table tennis bets include:
- Correct score (also correct score after two or three games)
- Double result (combining the predicted outcome of the first game and the match)
- Player totals
- Total points odd/even
- Total double
Like in many other sports, you may bet on table tennis futures, which involve predicting the winner of an entire competition before any matches begin.
Live table tennis betting
You can find all the same bets we explained above in live betting markets as well. Naturally, as the match progresses, the odds will change depending on the score. A few additional markets you may find that are specific to live betting include:
- Point betting — who wins the next point
- Race — who gets first to 5, 6, 7 or more points
- Game-winning margin — which player will win the current game and by what margin
- Current game correct score — a few options for the exact score of the current game
- Extra points — whether the current game will go to 10-10 and beyond
Table tennis has a rather fast pace, so if you wish to bet on it live, you’ll have to be pretty quick. That’s why most table tennis bettors use sportsbook apps for in-play betting. You can place all these time-sensitive bets with only a single tap.
Top table tennis leagues and tournaments to bet on
As mentioned, the table tennis calendar is hectic. Major tournaments are held throughout the year. The time between them is filled with dozens of smaller tournaments and leagues.
One of the most anticipated tournaments is the WTT Cup Finals, a year-end competition that aims to gather the best players in the world. Apart from that, the WTT also has several tiers, with the top one consisting of four Grand Smash events (similar to Grand Slams and majors in tennis and golf), with each of the singles draws composed of 64 players.
The top-level regular events are labeled the WTT Championship Series. There are eight of them, with each hosting 32 players in singles categories. Other WTT tiers include the Star Contender and Contender events, as well as the Youth Series.
Betting sites will also be filled with national leagues, the most popular of which are Chinese Super League, Liga Pro (Russia), and Bundesliga (Germany), to name a few.
As for international competitions, you may find interest in the annual table tennis world cup called the Setka Cup and continental competitions like the European Championships. Of course, betting on table tennis at the Olympic Games is also available.
Top U.S. table tennis stars
The United States has never dominated the world of table tennis, but a few players from the U.S. are commonly seen on the tour.
Kanak Jha and Lily Zhang are both currently in the top 40 in their respective gender categories. Other notable players include Nikhil Kumar, Kai Zhang, and Nicholas Tio in the men’s category, and Yue Wu, Amy Wang, and Crystal Wang on the women’s side of the tour.
Betting on table tennis at the Olympics
Table tennis has been part of the Summer Olympic Games since 1988. It consists of five events (two men, two women, and one mixed). China is the dominant nation at the Olympic tournament, winning 32 of the possible 37 gold medals thus far.
Most Olympic sports are featured at Florida sportsbooks, and table tennis is likely to have odds posted at most sportsbooks during any Olympic Games.
Table tennis betting tips and strategies
Predicting table tennis matches is difficult if you’ve never done it before or don’t know much about the sport. To minimize your risks, we will share a few general table tennis betting tips.
1. Don’t overestimate the rankings
You should definitely check the rankings of the two players or teams matching up, but rankings aren’t everything. Instead, you should focus on player form and check how they performed in the tournament up until that point or how they did in the last few matches.
2. Low-ranked competitions are prone to upsets
With so many competitions on display, you may sometimes feel the itch to place a bet on a lower-ranked tournament. This is where you should be extra careful, as these tournaments will almost always have a large share of surprises.
3. Go easy on set and point bets
It is always advisable to bet on the match winner instead of a set winner, simply because it is more predictable. You should try to avoid betting on individual points, as these are almost impossible to predict and are more like a coin toss than anything else. The same goes for bets like odds/even on total points.
Where to find table tennis scores, news and info
There are many places online where you can check the latest news from the world of table tennis. If you want to be sure that the information you’re looking at is legit, stick to the official websites of ITTF and World Table Tennis.
These sites will provide you with the latest scores, tournament schedules, updated rankings, info about players and more. You may also follow these organizations on social media to see the latest news. The same applies to individual leagues and tournaments.
Sportsbook rules for table tennis
The rules on individual table tennis bets are pretty straightforward. You will have an easy time learning them. However, certain rules come into play in specific situations, like when the match is postponed or canceled.
These rules may differ between sportsbooks, but in general, if a match is abandoned, all bets become void, and the bettor gets their stake back. An exception might be applied on certain bets like race to seven points or individual game bets, for example, if they have been determined before the abandonment.
If a match is canceled or postponed, the bet will stand only if the match is rescheduled to take place in a specified timeframe (usually 48 hours). There may be exceptions to this rule, but they will depend on each sportsbook.
Are table tennis matches fair?
Like any sport, table tennis has its fair share of issues relating to match-fixing. However, this usually happens only in smaller leagues and rogue competitions that often aren’t even a part of sportsbooks’ offers.
Generally speaking, you can trust all competitions played under a reputable and official governing board, like the ITTF. Top-tier leagues in China, Japan, Russia or Europe are usually legit and don’t have a recent record of fixing matches.
Note that, in most cases, if a match turns out to have been fixed and you already lost a bet on it, the sportsbook won’t return your stake.