Questions of Ally Pally’s Suitability for the World Darts Championship Remain Pertinent
The 2025 PDC World Darts Championship Final drew in 3.1 million viewers at its peak, and while this was still down from the 4.8 million from the year prior, it marked a huge audience for the darts. In fact, that viewer count posted for the 2024 Final remains Sky’s biggest audience for a non-football event.
Now, there are questions as to the suitability of its long-term home. While many are looking east to Saudi Arabia, there may be a different, more familiar opportunity to the west.
If Heading Overseas, Why Not Look West?
Naturally, if The Kingdom isn’t keen on bending the rules for darts, the most lucrative sports market in the world would be the obvious choice. In the United States, it’s estimated that around 17 million people play darts, but there is the social stigma that it’s little more than a bar game. Still, the state of play in the US is changing.
Sports events are bigger than ever, and the market recently opened up to sports betting. In the UK, sports betting and online betting have been around for decades, but not in the US. Now, a whole host of states regulate the activity, spurring millions to be wagered on major sporting events like the Super Bowl each year.
Looking at what’s available on these sites, it’s very comparable to the UK offering, and it even includes darts. The Bovada Sports website has a whole section for darts. Here, they’re offering odds on the spread (handicap betting), winners, totals, correct scores, and if there’ll be a nine-dart finish, who’ll get the highest checkout and the 180s count?
The platform also has a pathway to betting with cryptocurrencies for bigger bonuses and faster payouts, as well as cash offers for those who partake in the site’s Refer A Friend program. Looking further at this, it’s easy to see why sports betting has picked up so quickly across the US.
Another aspect of this all-in-one betting site that’s worth examining is the Community page. Bovada has set up a forum of sorts where fans can come together to share tips and stats. If the World Darts Championship comes to the US, you can bet that a community of bettors will come together here to share their bets.
Of course, the other important aspect to consider is that the US permits alcohol and would appear to be primed to welcome the crazy revelry of the British darts crowd. Some of the tailgates at NFL games are legendary, and while fans are encouraged to be rather limited in their chants and songs at stadiums, they could let loose at the darts.
Obliterating the Formula for Extra Cash
People enjoy live darts events across the UK, Europe, and increasingly beyond the continent put on by the PDC throughout the year. When it comes to the PDC Calendar, though, everything boils down to the World Darts Championship. It’s a uniquely staged occasion where the crowds revel in having a great time almost without limits.
Fans will pile into the Ally Pally for multiple sessions, some bets, sing songs, and cheer on all of the darts that land in the treble 20. It’s the idea of the World Darts Championship being a big party that forged the success of the tournament. On TV and in the venue, it’s the fans that make the intriguing sport truly captivating.
However, the 2025 World Darts Championship looks to have been a tipping point. Questions began popping up as to the suitability of the tournament’s long-term home long before the tournament even began. After all, every single one of the 90,000 tickets for the whole event at the 3,200-seater Alexandra Palace sold in just 15 minutes.
As was delved into at the time by this The Guardian article, at some point, the money on the line will force the hand of the PDC. The 2025 edition was the 32nd PDC World Darts Championship and the 18th at Alexandra Palace. While the obvious choice would be a bigger British venue, most think the smell of cash will lead to The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
However, Barry Hearn – the chairperson of the PDC – has made it clear that bringing the darts to Saudi Arabia is currently off the table. Hearn relayed that while Saudi officials were keen on bringing darts to the country, they declined requests to relax some of their rules during the event.
While boxing, snooker, and mixed martial arts have found success out there, they’re very different to darts. For now, Saudi Arabia is unwilling to make darts the exception, however, these rules are rumoured to possibly be relaxed in the coming years, but even then, other blockades may reduce what the PDC can put on.
If the PDC World Darts Championship is to move on from the Ally Pally and chase the cash to somewhere else in the world, it’d seem like a US venue would be more suitable than one in Saudi Arabia.