PDC World Championship betting is extremely popular, but if you’re new to it, there are crucial things to know. We’ll talk you through the nuts and bolts of the tournament, what to look for when choosing a betting site for it and give you some tips for making your money go further.
Inside the PDC World Darts Championship - What Bettors Need to Know
The PDC World Darts Championship is the richest, most important, and most prestigious event in the world of darts. Alongside the Premier League Darts and the World Matchplay, it’s part of the Triple Crown.
It’s been around since 1994, the year that the two major darts organisations, the BDO and the WDC (which then became the PDC), split. Each had its own Darts World Championship until 2020, when the BDO folded and the PDC World Championship became the sole one.
There have been 13 winners since its inception, with the great and now-retired Phil Taylor by far the most prolific, with 14 titles from 25 appearances.
Since 2008, it has been held in the West Hall at Alexandra Palace in London, with a seating capacity of 3,200.
Players can qualify for the tournament in several ways:
- being one of the Top 32 players in the world as per the PDC Order of Merit,
- via regional and national qualifiers,
- through PDC Secondary Tours.
Two places are also reserved for female players via the Women’s Series Order of Merit and the Women’s World Matchplay. The winners of each qualify for the PDC World Championship.
In total, there are seven rounds at the championship: best-of-five in Rounds 1 and 2, best-of-seven in Rounds 3 and 4, best-of-nine in the quarter-finals, best-of-eleven in the semis, and the final played as a best-of-thirteen match.
It’s by far the number 1 tournament in the sport, and interest in PDC World Championship betting is high among those who like to bet on darts. After all, the cream of the cream of dart players are all there.
Plus, bookies laying PDC World Championship darts betting tend to offer more betting markets and bonuses for this event than any other.
So, when does the Darts World Championship start? It starts on 11 December 2025 and runs till 3 January 2026, the day of the final.
How to Pick the Best PDC Darts Betting Sites
If you want to bet on the PDC World Darts Championship, you’re going to want a good betting site to do it at. Here are some key features to look out for.
- Licensing: Ideally, the site holds a UKGC license; if it doesn’t, we consider the Malta Gaming Authority license the next best option. The PDC World Championship 2026 betting site must hold a respected licence because that’s what offers you protection as a customer.
- Payment methods: Quite simply, the more betting payment methods available for both depositing and withdrawing money, the better. Ideally, there’s a good mix of debit cards and e-wallets you can use, along with the option of bank transfers for those who prefer more traditional methods.
- Betting markets available: We discuss some of these in the next section, but as a rule of thumb, both quantity and variety are key. The generosity of the odds is another essential consideration when it comes to PDC World Championship 2026 betting.
- Promotions: Promotions such as free bets, odds boosts, and money-back offers around PDC World Championship betting are a great way to get more bang for your buck. So the more offers a betting site has and the more value they provide, the more brownie points they get.
Key Betting Markets Explained - Where to Find Value on the Oche
Every year, there are more and more PDC World Championship betting markets to choose from, as sports betting sites see the value of giving customers greater choice.
Here are some of the main ones.
Outright Winner
Who is the favourite to win the Darts World Championship? Well, head to the PDC World Darts Championship winner betting market and you’ll soon find out.
Most customers enjoy betting on a match-by-match basis rather than tying their money up for a few weeks, but if you’re happy to do the latter and like to see the bigger picture, this could be the market for you.
Match Betting
This works exactly like any other two-runner market in sports like snooker, tennis or badminton. There can only be one winner in any of those, so it doesn’t matter about the manner in which the match is won; it only matters who wins it.
Set/Leg Betting
In darts, matches are divided into sets, and each set is divided into legs. You can bet on both of these, pre-leg/set and in-play, at most Sportsbooks.
To Hit a 9-Darter
A 9-darter is the equivalent of a 300 in bowling or a 147 in snooker: it’s a perfect game. It involves a player throwing just nine darts to complete the leg - the least possible number from a mathematical point of view.
Betting is available on both whether any player will hit a nine-darter during the Championship, but also whether a named player will do so in a particular match, at much higher odds, of course.
Total 180s
A 180 is when a player throws three darts in one visit that all land on the triple 20 (60 points), the maximum score you can get with one dart. So you’re betting on how many 180s a named player will get during the match.
Highest Checkout
If, when you visited the oche, you needed to get 100 and did so by getting a treble 20, then a 20, followed by a double 10, you would have had a checkout of 100; the highest possible checkout is 170. Here, you’re betting on which player will have the highest checkout over the course of the match.
In-Play Action: Live Betting on the PDC World Darts Championship
The sport of darts is fast-paced, all-action and at times unpredictable, so full of twists and turns, making it ideal for live betting. At in-play betting sites, you can bet on such markets as match winner, set winner, leg winner and most 180s in-play, with the odds constantly changing after each visit to the oche.
Just bear in mind that the TV pictures or the live streaming you’re seeing may be delayed by a few seconds, so the odds may not instantly match up with the action you’re watching.
Bonuses & Promotions for Darts World Championship
We mentioned the importance of promotions and betting bonuses in passing when discussing what to look out for at the top PDC World Championship betting sites. Let’s delve into the sort of promotions you’re most likely to come across.
- Free bets: Check that the free bet can be used on darts rather than being restricted to another particular sport. If it can be used for PDC World Championship darts betting, you can generally use the free bet on any darts market you like.
- Odds boosts: Let’s say Luke Littler would typically be 1.5 to beat Michael van Gerwen. In an attempt to attract more business, a sportsbook might boost the odds on Littler to 1.7 so that if you bet on him and he wins, you’ll have a considerably bigger payout than normal.
- Money-back offers: Money-back offers mean that even if your bet loses, the bookie returns your money to you if X happens. For example, the money-back offer may be that if your player loses the match but has the highest checkout, the bookie will return your stake.
PDC World Championship Betting Tips That Boost Your Strategy
Now that you know how PDC World Championship betting works in terms of betting markets and promos, let’s round things off with some tips to help you win some money on it.
- Look for the lively outsider: Some darts players are specialists when it comes to causing upsets against higher-ranked players, enjoying the spotlight and being on TV, to beat hot favourites. If you can identify players with a habit of doing so, you might be onto something.
- Identify the 180-specialist: Some darters have an excellent record when it comes to throwing 180s but struggle when it comes to finishing on a double, as is needed. So they’ll probably be outsiders for the match, but may also be outsiders to throw the most 180s, thus providing you with a good opportunity.
- Bankroll management: It’s a long tournament, so don’t spend all your money across the first two days. Instead, focus on betting bankroll management, which means never risking too much of our bankroll on just one bet. Use the start of the tournament to watch and take notes on the different players, and keep the stakes to a minimum, gradually increasing them as you feel more confident about your betting as the tournament progresses.
- Make use of Darts World Championship betting offers: If you can use a free bet to wager on a darts match rather than your own money, then do so. If one bookie has an Odds Boost on a player you want to back and another one doesn’t, then make sure you bet with the bookie that does.
