About Us
Who We Are
The first sports betting media website exclusively dedicated to professional surfing, BetWSL.com offers betting odds, information, data, and analysis on the World Surf League’s Men’s and Women’s Championship Tour. BetWSL.com was made for World Surf League fans by World Surf League fans, and ones ultimately interested in betting on their favorite sport. Our betting analysis offers the best available betting knowledge and insight so that you can make money while watching your favorite surfers perform on the biggest stage in professional surfing.
Why Betting?
After the repeal of PASPA in 2018, professional sports leagues have come to embrace legalized sports betting as retail (in-person) and/or mobile sports betting is now legal in 32 states in the United States. With a new means to attract new audiences, sports betting has undeniably caused a huge surge in growth and viewership for sports leagues, and we think professional surfing is next. With the number of sports bettors growing, widespread betting on the WSL is a real possibility in the coming future. A stat to back it up: according to Front Office Sports, “the total sports betting handle in the U.S. for [2022] reached $61.7 billion through September, already topping 2021’s total of $57.7 billion.”
United States Bettors
While surfing is a global sport, a large percentage of WSL viewers reside in the United States, more specifically: Hawaii and California. Despite public interest in legalizing sports betting in these two states, it is unclear when legislation will be enacted to do so. With Proposition 26 & 27 unlikely to pass on the November 2022 ballot in California, the waiting game will have to continue; Hawaiians will also have to wait until a new measure is introduced after sports gambling was similarly voted down in 2019. For alternative ways to wager on the WSL in the United States, see the available sportsbooks page.
International Bettors
Although legalized sports betting is relatively new to the United States, Australia and the European Union have regulated the practice for decades. For countries that frequent the WSL world tour, sports betting is legal in Australia, Portugal, France, South Africa, Brazil, and the United States (limited). Sports betting is illegal in Indonesia and French Polynesia.
WSL HISTORY
1976 – 1982
Hawaiian surfers Randy Rarick and Fred Hemmings organize a collection of disparate unaffiliated pro surfing events around the world into the first world championship tour by developing an international ranking system and encouraging the world’s best surfers to get involved. Their organization, International Professional Surfers (IPS) becomes the original world governing body of professional surfing. Champions included Peter “PT” Townend (AUS), Shaun Tomson (ZAF), Wayne “Rabbit” Bartholomew (AUS), Mark “MR” Richards (AUS), Margo Oberg (USA), Lynn Boyer (HAW) and Debbie Beacham (USA).
1983 – 2014
Former World No. 2 surfer Ian “Kanga” Cairns evolves the original IPS concept into the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP), providing a joint ownership and control of the sport for both the event organizers and the surfers on tour. In the mid-1990s, the ASP’s focus shifted to the “Dream Tour” concept, encouraging event organizers to transition their venues from well-populated, metropolitan areas to remote locations with high-quality surf. The Dream Tour birthed the company philosophy of, “world’s best surfers, world’s best waves,” which remains the organization’s guiding principle to this day. Notable champions include Tom Carroll (AUS), Tom Curren (USA), Kelly Slater (USA), Andy Irons (HAW), Mick Fanning (AUS) and Gabriel Medina (BRA) as well as Wendy Botha (ZAF), Frieda Zamba (USA), Lisa Andersen (USA), Layne Beachley (AUS), Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) and Carissa Moore (HAW). In addition, this era opened its doors to both embrace the future and acknowledge the past in the creation of the junior and masters tours.
2015 – Present
The World Surf League (WSL) steps in to help evolve the ASP into a more potent centralized body, overseeing the key product areas of the elite men’s and women’s World Championship Tours, the Qualifying Series (QS), the Big Wave Tour, the Big Wave Awards, the World Longboard Championships and the World Junior Championships. In addition to its headquarters in Santa Monica, California, the WSL has a commercial office in New York City and regional offices in Japan, Australia, France, South Africa, Brazil, Hawaii and Southern California.
