It is time to get serious about betting the Summer Olympics. The 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan had to be put on hold for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic. One year later, the Summer Games are gearing up for their 17-day run starting on Friday, July 23 and running through Sunday, Aug. 8.
The Summer Olympics cover a wide range of sports and sporting events to open up any number of betting opportunities at your favorite online sportsbook. NBC is the official broadcasting network of the 2020 Summer Games with a full schedule of daily events.
Betting the Summer Olympics Online
The top-rated online books are already building out their betting board in anticipation of this unique betting event. Most of the betting odds ahead of the games are tied to Summer Olympics futures and props.
For example, the OVER/UNDER for total US Gold Medals won has been set at 42.5 with -125 odds for the OVER and -115 for the UNDER. Looking at their olympic trials is a good start when picking a side.
You can also find some opening betting lines for the actual competitions. The US men’s basketball team has been opened as a 17.5-point favorite in their opening round game against Australia.
What makes the Summer Olympics such a great betting event is the sheer diversity in the sports you can bet on. While basketball, track & field and swimming will garner quite a bit of betting action, you can focus your handicapping efforts on secondary competitions such as rugby, surfing and sailing.
Massive Betting Menu
The overall schedule of events provides more than enough betting action on a daily basis starting on July 23. Odds for all the events will be posted on a regular basis and updated regularly as the competition wears on. Just as one sport is winding down with the medal rounds another will be starting up with opening round competition.
Given the sheer magnitude of the different sports and sporting events in the Summer Olympics, the best course of action is to form a betting strategy. Once you have found the online book or books where you plan to bet on the Summer Games, you should then set an overall betting budget.
It is easy to get carried away with so much action on the board. Pick out a few of your favorite sports and base your betting strategy around those individual competitions. You should get to know the favorites for each whether it is a team competition or an individual event. Betting the favorites can be a viable strategy for some sports but anything can happen given the global scale of the competition.
Tons of Sporting Events When Betting the Summer Olympics
You should also create a diverse mix of sports to wager on. The betting lines for basketball and soccer are going to be much sharper than betting lines for more obscure sports and sporting events. Make sure you do some line shopping at various sportsbooks.
Given that the 2020 Summer Games are being held in Japan, you will need access to an accurate viewing schedule to follow the competition as it wears on. Some events will be broadcast live while others might be aired with a tape delay. This can make it tricky when it comes to the posted odds at your online book.
Make sure you familiarize yourself with all the rules and regulations for betting the Summer Games at your online book. There may be some important aspects to the grading process for actual bets placed.