How to Bet on the 2024 Paris Olympics

The Paris 2024 Olympics are setting up to be an epic event for sports betting fans this year, and in this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to get the hang of how Summer Olympic odds work as well as give you a bit of Olympic history.

A Quick Look at the 2024 Summer Olympics

In 1894, Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to bring back the ancient Olympic Games. Paris hosted the second modern Olympics in 1900 and did it again in 1924, making it the first city to host twice. Now, it’s gearing up for the 2024 Games.

The Paris 2024 Olympics will feature a mix of classic sports like track and field, swimming, and gymnastics, along with newer ones like skateboarding, surfing, and sport climbing. The 2024 Games are also pushing for gender equality with several mixed-gender events. Paris itself, with its famous landmarks and lively culture, is the perfect backdrop for the Games and some easy breezy summer betting fun.

Understanding Olympic Betting Odds

If you’re new to betting on the Olympics, the first thing you need to know is how to read the different types of bets and odds.

Olympics Moneyline Betting

The moneyline, or straight-up bet, is the most common type of Olympic wager. You just pick the winner of an event. For example, in the Olympic basketball game between Greece and Canada, the odds might look like this:

As you can see in the above, the moneyline odds for this game show:

Greece +220

Canada – 275

The favourite, Canada, is shown with a minus sign (-), meaning you have to bet $220 to win $100. The underdog, Greece, is shown with a plus sign (+), meaning you win $275 if you bet $100.

Olympics Point Spread Betting

Point spread betting is less common in the Olympics but still available, especially for team sports. Spreads give the favorite a handicap to even out the bets. For example, in the above basketball game:

Greece +6.5 (-115) Canada -6.5 (-105)

Here, Canada is favored by 6.5 points. You win a bet on Canada if they win by 7 or more goals. You win a bet on Greece if they win or lose by 6 or fewer goals. The half-point (.5) prevents a tie. The -115 means you need to bet $115 to win $100.

Olympic Over/Under Totals Betting

In our example above, we see an Olympic soccer match between France and the United States. The Over/Under Total is listed as 2.5. If you think 3 or more goals will be scored, you should bet the Over. If you believe that fewer than 2 goals will be scored, then bet the Under.

Total Canadian Gold Medals

Another example of an Under/Over bet that’s popular during the Olympic games are ones like our example below.

You’re betting on how many gold medals you think Canada will bring home from Paris 2024. If you think they’ll win 6 or more, then the Over bet is what you’d take. Think they’ll only win 5 or less? Take the Under.