While the game does tend to have a rather sedate reputation, its tactical nature and head-to-head battles can make for some thrilling encounters that will keep all bettors interested until the final roll.

And, thanks to its simple rules, even a novice bowls bettor can familiarise themselves with the rules and nuances quicker then it takes for the jack to come to a stop.

Understanding bowls betting

To understand the bowls betting markets it's important to understand the actual game itself – and it's a really simple game to get to grips with.

The first bowler places their mat on the bowling green and rolls the jack (the small white ball) to the other end of the green. It must travel at least 23 meters and, once it's come to rest, it's moved to the centre of the rink.

The players then take turns to bowl and get a point for each of their bowls that is closer to the jack than their opponents nearest one.

On the professional tour, the current method of scoring is sets. Each set consists of multiple ends and the player with the most shots at the conclusion of a set, wins that set. If the score is tied, then the set is halved.

If a player wins two sets, or gets a win and a tie, then that player wins the game. If each player wins a set – or both sets end tied – there is a final three-end game to separate them and determine the winner.

This is the format played across the professional game so, once you have an understanding of the fundamentals, bettors can get involved with all the games played at the biggest bowling events across the world.

And no event is bigger than the World Indoor Bowls Championship.

World Indoor Bowls Championship betting

The World Indoor Bowls Championship is the pinnacle of the indoor game and takes place in January every year – perfect for those bettors looking for a little New Year excitement.

Unsurprisingly, for a game with its roots in the UK (the game is thought to originate from 13th century England), it's players from these isles that dominate the tournament.

You have to go back to 1992 and Australian Ian Schuback's victory to find the last time someone from outside of the UK won the men's championship.

The women's championship has seen a more recent winner from overseas, with Karen Murphy – also from Australia – picking up the title back in 2012.

It's for this reason that bowls betting tips tend to lean towards players from the UK – with Scotland and England, in particular, leading the way.

Scotland's Stewart Anderson won the 2019 renewal of the event in Great Yarmouth and is sure to be in the mix for many years to come.

In fact, for those looking at bowls odds, having a bet on a player from Scotland could be well worth serious consideration – the three players who have won the event the most are Scots and players from the nation have won the championship more than 20 times between them.

Also worth keeping an eye on in the World Indoor Bowls Championship betting is England's Nick Brett. The Peterborough-born bowler won his first world title in 2016 and made it to the semi-finals of the 2019 event.

This record makes him a tempting proposition for those looking for shorter bowls betting odds.

The women's World Indoor Bowls Championship takes place at the same time as the men's and is similarly dominated by countries from the UK.

England's Katherine Rednall has won the event three times and those looking for bowls betting tips should keep female players from the UK at the front of their thoughts.

Betting on other bowls championships

While the World Indoor Bowls Championship is undoubtedly one of the biggest events in the bowls calendar, there are still plenty of other events for bettors to get stuck into throughout the year.

When it comes to crown green bowls betting in the UK, you should look no further than the Waterloo championships.

Crown green bowls is the outdoor equivalent of the indoor game and is played on grass, making it subtly different, with weather conditions and quality of the surface coming into play a lot more.

The Waterloo tournament – held in Blackpool in the late summer – presents a field of some of the best bowls players around and is always worth keeping an eye on for great bowls betting opportunities.

In the Southern Hemisphere, you need look no further than the Australian Open held in early summer every year on the Gold Coast.

Anyone looking for Australian Open lawn bowls betting tips would do well to keep an eye on 2018 champion Ryan Bester, who has performed consistently for a number of years and picked up a silver medal in the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Commonwealth games bowls betting

Perhaps surprisingly, lawn bowls is one of the 10 core sports of the Commonwealth Games and has been held at every renewal since 1930 (with the exception of the 1966 games in Jamaica).

In 2018, the men's gold medal was picked up by Australian Aaron Wilson, while New Zealand's Jo Edwards bagged the gold in the women's event, completing a clean sweep for the Southern Hemisphere nations in the singles events.

The 2018 Commonwealth Games had 10 different forms of lawn bowls to bet on and, with the sport guaranteed to be a centrepiece of the event for many years to come, there will be plenty of great lawn bowls betting for people to get stuck into.

Bowls #YourOdds on the up

There are loads of brilliant bowls betting markets to take advantage of with William Hill but, for those bettors who like to get a little deeper into the game, there's the chance to create your own markets.

Anyone has the power to request their own bowls #YourOdds, depending on the type of bet they wish to place, by tweeting @WilliamHill.

It may appear a relaxing game but with William Hill there are sure to be some bowls bets that will really get the heart pumping.