Merry Christmas! If you are a relative newcomer to sports betting then you may think 
that, like many other parts of life, the sporting calendar shuts down over the Christmas festivities, but that is where you would be wrong. There is lots of great sporting action to enjoy right throughout Christmas, even on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and in this article we are going to take a look at some of those great value bets.
Of course, in the UK, Boxing Day has long been traditionally linked with lots of sporting events including the Boxing Day meet at Kempton Park, where the King George VI Chase is contested every year, as well as the traditional Boxing Day fixture list in the Premier League, both of which will be going ahead once again this year.
If you would like to enjoy a little betting action throughout the festive period, perhaps with a mince pie and a cheeky sherry at your side while you place your bets, then you may well need a site that offers you a great value starter bonus when you sign up. One such site is bet365, and its current bet365 Sport New Player Welcome Bonus is a fantastic offer for any new customer signing up.
Bet365 Sport Open Account Offer
Up to £100 in Bet Credits for new customers at bet365.
Min deposit £5. Bet Credits available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply.
If you are based outside the UK and Europe, such as in the United States, then you may need an alternative provider. In Pennsylvania, one standout choice is the BetRivers Online Sportsbook and Casino site. This service offers an exceptional welcome bonus for new customers via its special BetRivers Promo Code, which you enter when signing up and depositing to claim the offer.
The same site also operates a service in Indiana too, only in the Hoosier State, players 
that want to sign up use a slightly different code. This is the BetRivers Affiliate Code “HOOSIERBONUS” which you enter when joining up and depositing on the site for the first time to claim your Indiana-only bonus offer.
Finally, if you are resident in another state that permits sports betting, then a great option is the DraftKings Online Sportsbook Welcome Bonus, which offers players a great value deal when they sign up as well as extensive sports betting and fantasy sports betting across the range of DraftKings sites.
Let us now take a look ahead to some of the biggest sports and betting events that are coming up over the Christmas period across the world, as well as giving you some tips on what we think are the best bets for each.
Christmas Sports Betting Opportunities 2020
23rd & 24th December Onwards– NBA Season Begins
It doesn’t seem too long ago that the Los Angeles Lakers were being proclaimed the 2020 
NBA Champions, but after an interesting pre-season, the new NBA season gets underway on the 23rd December, with the bulk of teams in action for the first time on the 24th December. The full fixture list is displayed below.
23rd December
- Brooklyn Nets v Golden State Warriors
- Los Angeles Lakers v Los Angeles Clippers
24th December
- Philadelphia 76ers v Washington Wizards
- Orlando Magic v Miami Heat
- Cleveland Cavaliers v Charlotte Hornets
- Indiana Pacers v New York Knicks
- Boston Celtics v Milwaukee Bucks
- Toronto Raptors v New Orleans Pelicans
- Memphis Grizzlies v San Antonio Spurs
- Houston Rockets v Oklahoma City Thunder
- Chicago Bulls v Atlanta Hawks
- Minnesota Timberwolves v Detroit Pistons
- Denver Nuggets v Sacramento Kings
- Portland Trail Blazers v Utah Jazz
- Phoenix Suns v Dallas Mavericks
At the moment bet365 Sport doesn’t have odds on all the pre season games (just the two for the 23rd December at the time of writing, but those odds will be made available over the next few days and as you can imagine, accumulator (or parlay betting if you are US-based) is extremely popular with followers of the NBA.
Our Acca Selections – Warriors, Lakers, Wizards, Cavaliers, Rockets, Heat and Jazz.
25th to 29th December – NFL Week 16
The penultimate week of the NFL regular season gets underway on Christmas Day with a 
big game for the New Orleans Saints as they host divisional rivals the Carolina Panthers in a must win game. All 32 teams are in action across the five days of games with the schedule as follows:
Friday 25th December
- Minnesota Vikings @ New Orleans Saints (9.30pm)
Saturday 26th December
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Detroit Lions
- San Francisco 49ers @ Arizona Cardinals (9.30pm)
Sunday 27th December
- Miami Dolphins @ Las Vegas Raiders (1.15am)
- Carolina Panthers @ Washington Football Team
- Atlanta Falcons @ Kansas City Chiefs
- Chicago Bears @ Jacksonville Jaguars
- Cincinnati Bengals @ Houston Texans
- New York Giants @ Baltimore Ravens
- Cleveland Browns @ New York Jets
- Denver Broncos @ Los Angeles Chargers (9.05pm)
- Philadelphia Eagles @ Dallas Cowboys (9.25pm)
- Los Angeles Rams @ Seattle Seahawks (9.25pm)
Monday 28th December
- Tennessee Titans @ Green Bay Packers (1.20am)
Tuesday 29th December
- Buffalo Bills @ New England Patriots (1.15am)
Given that at the time of writing the Week 15 matches have not yet been completed, the odds for Week 16 matches are not available at bet365 at present, but should be available from Tuesday 22nd at the latest. As with NBA, accumulator or parlay betting is hugely popular for NFL followers and you can put together some fantastic bets of this type from the selections above.
Our Acca Selections: Saints, Buccaneers, Dolphins, Chiefs, Ravens, Browns, Chargers, Packers and Bills
26th December – Horse Racing – King George VI Chase at Kempton Park
One of the most popular races of the year, which always takes place on Boxing Day, the 
King George VI Chase will be the highlight of the annual Kempton Park Boxing Day meeting. This year, fans are expectant of perhaps crowning another legend as Clan Des Obeaux (9/4) bids to join the likes of Desert Orchid and Kauto Star as being a three-time winner of this very popular race.
Standing in his way is the impressive Cyrname (2/1 favourite), a stablemate from the successful Paul Nicholls stable, as well as Lostintranslation and Monalee, both of whom are 9/1 chances. Other runners include The Storyteller and Real Steel (both 16/1), Kemboy and Waiting Patiently (both 20/1) and Saint Calvados, Allaho and Frodon (all 25/1 chances).
Desert Orchid has won the race three times (1988, 1989 and 1990) and the incredible Kauto Star landed five wins (2006, 07, 08, 09 and 2011). Other notable winners include Thistlecrack, Might Bite, Cue Card, Silvinaco Conti, Kicking King, Florida Pearl, Long Run and Best Mate.
Tip – It does appear to be a battle between the two Paul Nicholls’ runners in this race and while Cyrname has his backers after a fine showing in the Betfair Chase, I am backing Clan Des Obeaux to become the third horse to win this race three times or more and in doing so, cement its status as a legend. If Cyrname of Clan Des Obeaux wins, it would be Nicholl’s 10th win in the past 15 years.
26th – 27th December – Premier League – Matchday 15
The first of two Premier League Matchdays, which come back to back, starts on Boxing 
Day with 10 games played across the 26th and 27th, followed by Matchday 16 which takes place from the 28th to the 30th December. The full list of Matchday 15 fixtures and the date and time they are to be played is outlined below.
26th December Games
- Leicester City v Manchester United (12.30pm)
- Fulham v Southampton (3.00pm)
- Aston Villa v Crystal Palace (3.00pm)
- Arsenal v Chelsea (5.30pm)
- Manchester City v Newcastle United (8.00pm)
- Sheffield United v Everton (8.00pm)
27th December Games
- Leeds United v Burnley (12.00pm)
- West Ham v Brighton (2.15pm)
- Liverpool v West Brom (4.30pm)
- Wolves v Tottenham (7.15pm)
Tips – There are some very intriguing tips across both days. Manchester United (5/4), Chelsea (evens) and Everton (3/4) are I think excellent selections to win away from home on Boxiing Day, while you could add Tottenham (11/10) to that list on the 27th too.
I see home wins for the likes of Aston Villa (19/20), Manchester City (1/7), Leeds (13/20), West Ham (13/10) and Liverpool (1/6) across both days too, while I think the best bet for a draw is the Fulham v Southampton clash (5/2).
You can combine these selections, or make your own into an accumulator bet with bet365 to enjoy a little extra excitement over the festive period.
