Mongolia’s Nadaam Festival: Betting on Archery, Wrestling, and Horse Racing

Nadaam has been around for centuries, and is a quintessentially Mongolian festival. From its beginnings, as a strength demonstration ground, Nadaam is still highly relevant and continues to captivate Mongolians. The National Nadaam Festival is held every year in July or at latest August. Any traveling visitors simply must pop in on the games to soak up the culture. These events are, by design, fascinating feats of strength and cunning, and they’re a spectacle to behold.

A Look At Nadaam Festivals

The main Nadaam festival happens in Ulaanbaatar, where the games are more organized and draw huge crowds. Though you can find it all over the country, in rural villages and settlements on remote steppes. Nadaam is deeply rooted in the culture. It was originally a nomadic practice, with the sports of archery, wrestling and horse racing intended to be a training ground for warriors. Similar to Buzkashi horse racing in Central Asia or stick fighting practiced in China.

Nadaam was originally a means for warriors to train and learn. Before formalized events were made, these would have been one off nomadic practices. A lot of these informal Nadaam practices were passed on from generation to generation. And you can still find rural tribes holding their own games and events.

Formal Nadaam festivals were made a national event during the Qing Dynasty’s rule. 4 centuries after the death of Genghis Khan, Mongolia’s Nadaam rituals became nationalised, and celebrated throughout the country. And they still include the ceremonial Genghis Khan’s nine-horse tails – representing the nine tribes of the Mongols. Celebrating raids, as a coming of age ritual, or for leisurely social bonding, Nadaam had its place in nomadic society. The festivals feature the 3 main Nadaam sports, and are really community events. And where social bonding and community is concerned, friendly wagers were never far behind.

Three Main Sports and Physical Feats

Archery was an important part of Mongolian culture, and vital for raids. Mongol Bows were curved and shorter than European ones, so they could be used on horseback. The original Mongol bows, used at the time of Genghis Khan (1162-1227) were even smaller than the ones you find nowadays. At Nadaam festivals, archery is played in teams of ten, with men and women both participating. The men shoot targets 75 meters away, while the women have to aim for targets 65 meters away. The winners of a Nadaam Festival archery contest can be granted titles such as the National Marksman or Markswoman, and are honored.

Mongolian wrestling, also called Bokh, is an ancient form of wrestling. If someone touches the ground with any part of their body excluding their foot or the palm of their hand, they lose. The single fight elimination contests favor firm, agile and strong wrestlers.

Then there is horse racing, which is typically done cross country over distances of 30km. This is a lot more than your average Royal Ascot or Breeders’ Cup. The Western graded stakes and horse race meetings are typically done in sprints over just 2km. Another little peculiarity is that the length of the race is determined by the age of the horse. And that jockeys are typically young children, aged 5 up to 13 years old.

Knucklebone Throwing and Divination

Nadaam also has another game, albeit one that is very different and not technically a sport. The shagai, a knucklebone “dice” throwing game that can be used as a fortune telling device. It is a very ancient practice, and adds a spiritual depth to Nadaam. Using knucklebones as dice is a practice that dates even further back, as far as the ancient Egyptian gambling games.

Shagai are the ankle bones of a sheep or goat. They can be thrown and played in numerous types of games. But the most common is a divination gamble, in which players can read their fortunes or look into the future.

Gambling Traditions in Mongolian Nadaam

Elements of Shagai are rooted in gambling, and the outcomes are pure chance. It is a bit like Tarot in that you don’t do much more than draw a card (or throw a knucklebone). And then, the fortune reader will read your results.

The other gambling rituals at Nadaam are more down to earth and straightforward. For instance, horse race betting is one of the most commonly bet on sports. While you won’t find advanced horse racing bets here, or fixed odds on the racers, it is a highly enthralling and visually captivating sport to bet on. Just don’t expect to place any Trifectas or round robin bets on different horses.

Wrestling, a contact sport where power and size are equally as important and agility and balance, is another hot one to bet on. In nomadic gambling rituals, these bets would have possibly involved exchanging favors, land, goods, or bounty from raids. The setting for the gambling would have been highly controlled. Addiction would have translated as weakness, and to pick the winning wrestler was to have keen and true insights.

The same goes for archery, too. It is not the kind of sport where you can weigh up the horses or the fighters. There are no physical parameters or statistics that tip bettors on how far they can see and how well they shoot. So it was more of a judgment call and attention to detail that could help onlookers make their bets.

Mongolian Gambling Laws

The Mongolian government takes a pretty strict and conservative stance where gambling is concerned. Online casino games are illegal in Mongolia, and online betting sites are strictly regulated. If you are planning to place bets at Nadaam festival, you have to be careful. There are also scammers and illegal operations that may try to offer fixed odds or real bets, but these are not officially sanctioned.

The Mongolian government can legalize sports betting operators, and even issue special licenses. It takes a harsh stance against any unregulated gambling operators, which can result in heavy fines. So if you come across a bookie that doesn’t seem legit in Mongolia, it is best to avoid them.

Betting on Horses

So while you may not always get the chance to place prop bets on Nadaam, there are alternatives to explore. Horse race betting is hugely popular around the world. At any given time, you will undoubtedly find horse races occurring in some part of the world. Whether it is a UK or Irish racetrack, or one in Australia, South Africa, America, Japan, or even the Mongolian Derby, you are not short of options.

Most of these are shorter races, and they would use weight handicaps instead of determining race length by age. Though from a betting point of view, they are more fair to bet on, and are arguably more exciting for punters. These horse races last around 2 minutes, and with races billed all day at most UK, American and Australian racetracks, you won’t be left waiting for the next race. You can also source all kinds of fascinating advanced horse racing bets. Each way, place bets, boxed bets, and forecast wagers are just the tip of the iceberg.

Archery and Wrestling Betting

These two sports are not as widespread or mainstream as horse racing. So the betting options are also a bit more difficult to come by. You can find athletics competitions such as the Olympic Games covered by most bookies. But the majority don’t go into regional or local wrestling leagues or archery competitions. There aren’t many sports to bet on that are similar to archery. Unless, at a stretch, you include something like darts betting. But otherwise, you are looking at the occasional Olympic Games bets on archery. And those will just involve futures like which country will win or who will get the Gold/Silver/Bronze medals.

But where wrestling is concerned, there are many alternatives that could excite bettors. Boxing and MMA, while not the same type of combat sport as wrestling, offer the same physicality and brute strength. MMA is perhaps closer, as there are fighters who utilise traditional wrestling techniques. But then, you have UFC fighters who may employ Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, kickboxing, or even the Brazilian “dance” fight Capoeira.

UFC betting is very popular, and there are loads of different types of bets to pick from. You can find all kinds of total rounds and method of victory bets, but some bookmakers will also throw in props. These can include which fighter will draw first blood, total takedowns, will the fight go the distance, and double chance MoV.

Nadaam Festival Traditional Betting Nowadays

There may not be formal bets taken at Nadaam, but that doesn’t mean you can’t gamble at these events. There are cultures of local betting, especially on the Bokh wrestling, which are done with private pools, on hidden media platforms, and done among communal circles. These are not organized, and the odds are agreed on by participating parties. Pools can be made, through which the winning bets can be paid out. But besides Bokh and a few horse racing bets, you won’t find many props or alternative bets.

You may not even find these channels and betting pools unless helped by a local. That is, a local who knows a person, who knows another, who may be able to bring you in. But don’t brag about it, go public with your bet or tell anyone else. If you want all that, you may be better off betting on another horse race or a UFC fight somewhere else.