The 2026 World Darts Championship at the Alexandra Palace in London is one of the highlights of the sporting year in the United Kingdom (UK).
However, the tournament’s impact stretches far beyond UK borders, fuelled primarily by the Professional Darts Corporation’s ambitious global marketing strategy.
With that in mind, read on as we assess how darts has become a modern-day entertainment phenomenon, starting with its impact on the betting industry.
Betting activity is off the scale
Football and horse racing have traditionally dominated the betting sector, but the landscape has shifted dramatically in recent years.
Darts has become a hugely popular option for sports bettors, as evidenced by the vast array of markets available via reputable sportsbooks.
Bookmakers and sports betting platforms offer extensive coverage of major darts events, which punters from across the globe are eager to engage with.
For example, bettors can wager on which player will score the most 180s during the tournament, as well as the outright betting favourites (as per Spreadex Sports), which gives them an interest throughout the event.
Outright betting, match betting, and correct score are amongst a plethora of other markets that sports bettors can wager on during darts tournaments.
Betting activity when the 2026 final is staged on January 3 is guaranteed to be off the scale as savvy darts fans attempt to pick the winner.
Sky Sports is garnering epic viewership numbers
Staging the World Darts Championship over the festive period has proved to be a masterstroke. The tournament now rivals Boxing Day football in the popularity stakes.
This is reflected in the viewing figures in the UK, which have increased dramatically from the 200,000 people who tuned in to watch Phil Taylor win the 1999 final.
Looking at the viewing figures over the past quarter-century, we can get a better idea of the rise in popularity of darts.
- 2025 – 3,100,000
- 2024 – 3,680,000
- 2023 – 1,990,000
- 2022 – 1,490,000
- 2021 – 1,000,000
- 2020 – 1,006,553
- 2019 – 658,300
- 2018 – 1,400,000
- 2017 – 607,000
- 2016 – 908,000
- 2015 – 1,500,000
The 2026 final will likely top the three-million mark again on Sky Sports, particularly if reigning champion Like Littler progresses to that stage.
The teenager has opened up the sport to a much broader audience, which is having a knock-on effect on some other unlikely sectors.
Littler is helping darts go mainstream again
Darts initially crossed into the mainstream during the 1970s and 1980s, primarily on the back of legendary players such as Eric Bristow and John Lowe.
Huge audiences watched major televised tournaments, while popular television shows such as Bullseye became firmly embedded in the UK’s entertainment culture.
The creation of the PDC and link-up with Sky Sports brought more professionalism into the mix, and laid the foundations for darts to become the global behemoth it is today.
Littler is now a wanted man on the television chat show circuit, while numerous other players have become household names due to their exploits in darts.
Bullseye has returned with an exciting new format, further cementing the notion that darts is destined to hit even greater heights in the future.
While numerous other sports are struggling to attract viewers in an increasingly competitive marketplace, darts looks set to keep booming for the foreseeable future.