The High-Stakes World of Argentine Pato

Here is a fun fact for sports fans: the national sport of Argentina is not soccer. The land that produced Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi may be highly passionate about soccer, but it is not the official sport of the country. No, that honor belongs to Pato, or Jeugo del Pato. It is a very unique type of game, best described as a mixture of polo and basketball.

Don’t write pato off as just a heritage sport or something practised in quiet countryside villages. Pato can be just as intense, and Argentines follow Pato with the same rigour and passion as soccer. It can also be a highly violent sport, and full of nail biting drama. And where we have that, we have no shortage of sports bettors and enthusiasts making Pesos on their winning predictions.

How Does Pato Work?

Pato means Duck in Spanish, and this was no coincidence. The sport was called Pato because instead of using a ball, Pato players used a live duck. The game is basically like basketball, in that there are two teams and the objective is to score points. This can be done by placing the ball (or a real life duck) into the opponent’s basket.

The modern game pits four member teams against each other, and they ride on horses. The ball has 6 handles, which are external rings that players hold onto. Players can grab the ball, ride with it, pass it to teammates, and opponents can also try to steal the ball.

When players hold the ball, they must stretch out the arm that holds the ball. This makes it possible for opponents to attempt a steal, which is called a cinchada, or tug. When the opponent grabs hold of one of the handles, both players holding the ball must stand on the stirrups. They can’t be sitting down during a tug. Then, the players have to tug the ball back into their possession.

At either end of the pitch are the goals, which are baskets that are placed at the top of long poles. The basket is perpendicular to the ground, so players can easily throw the ball through the hoop. It is not like basketball, where the ball has to fall downwards through the hoop.

Where Pato Comes From

The first documented versions of Pato surfaced around 1610, when Argentina was a colony of the Spanish Crown. The game was played among gauchos, skilled riders who were the Argentine equivalent of cowboys. In those early variants of Pato, the pitch would often span entire fields. They didn’t all have organised scoring systems either. Just like the original soccer/rugby in the UK, where the point was to bring the ball from one village to another, Pato may have also been closer to a “capture the flag” type game.

Needless to say, Pato was not without danger. The game was banned several times by authorities on the grounds that it was highly violent. Gauchos could be trampled to death, horses could get injured, and the duck wouldn’t fare any better. The violence also extended outside the game. Gauchos could get heated from games of Pato, and there were many instances of knife fights started because of a game of Pato. Not too dissimilar from how poker in the Wild West could end in gunfights.

Despite the bans, Pato survived. The game was regulated in the 1930s, and was inspired by modern polo. In 1953, controversial Argentine president Juan Peron named Pato the national sport of the country.

Betting Traditions on Pato

Betting is hugely prominent in Argentina and the rest of South America. Pato may not rank among the biggest sports Argentines bet on. Taking the crown, naturally, is soccer. But Argentina has quite an intriguing take on Pato betting. Historically, the gauchos placed bets on themselves or against their opponents when playing Pato. It was a highly dramatic activity that practically any gaucho could take part in. And the wagers could extend to deeds, trading goods, horses and even land.

In the modern day and age, pato gambling is still pretty much a off the books activity. There aren’t official sportsbooks or betting sites that cover pato events. Instead, you have to dig a little deeper to find any action betting on pato.

Like other underground or closed betting sports, the wagers here are placed in secret betting circles. Bets can be made on a handshake, over media channels such as Telegram, or even by word of mouth. The sport is heated, and so is the betting. Gamblers can wager tremendous sums of money against each other betting on pato. And the action is not limited to who will win the match.

Peer Betting and Secretive Gambling Circles

You won’t get multiple betting lines, alternate spreads, or adjustable totals lines. However, some gamblers will bet on the feats of individual players or exchange props such as who will score first. The betting action is more akin to a betting exchange. In that gamblers set their prices, and other bettors buy the laying bet. If you stake $100 on team A to win and set the odds at 1.5 (-200), then the laying bet would require $150 at odds of 1.67 (-150). If you win, you are getting the $150 your peer layed against your bet. But if they win, they will take your $100.

The betting action can reach a frenzy, especially between rival teams and regional tournaments. However, as a neutral, it is next to impossible to find anyone who will take your bets. So, you should either mingle with the locals to find someone who will accept your bets. Or, have someone with you who can get you into the Telegram betting group chats or into the unofficial betting circles.

Similar Sports to Pato

It would be easier for non native to just take their money and look at alternatives. The obvious contender here is betting on basketball. Basketball betting is a giant industry, and there are countless online and landbased bookmakers that supply basketball bets. Whether you are betting on the NBA, EuroLeague, or Argentina’s own Liga Nacional de Básquetbol, you won’t fall short of options.

Betting on polo is not unheard of, but it is rare to find public bookmakers that offer these kinds of bets. It is far easier to bet on horse races, real or virtual.

Horse racing games, for the most part, are not really covered by online sportsbooks. They are a little niche, or too local to make huge revenue. For instance, the horse racing at Mongolia’s Nadaam Festival doesn’t pop up in any online sportsbook’s catalog.

Nor does the Central Asian game of Buzkashi. Incidentally, if you are looking for the closest horse sport to Pato, your best bet would be Buskashi.

Is Pato All That Big in Argentina?

There was a bill in 2010 that would have replaced pato with soccer as the national sport of the country. The arguments against Pato was that it is nowhere near as popular as soccer. Some experts estimated that 90% of Argentines had never even seen a Pato match live. But then, the argument for Pato was that this sport is uniquely Argentinian. It was not imported, like soccer was, and the game has deeper roots than soccer.

It could be likened to Colombia’s explosive Tejo, a sport that has since spread across South America. But its roots are firmly Argentinian. The game of Sapo, a Peruvian specialty, is another gambling game that is endemic to Peru. So while Pato is not as popular as it used to be, and the appetite for soccer is tremendous, it would be a controversial move to replace the national sport. Sure, it is not easy to find, and even harder to find bets on Pato. But for its originality and unshakable cultural roots, Pato is one of a rare breed of sports.