Sports betting in the United States is about to see a significant increase with the opening of the Paris 2024 Olympics. This will be the first Olympics held since the expansion of the legalized betting sector in the country.
It is worth remembering that the Supreme Court decision in 2018 allowed sports betting in the country, with each state regulating its market. Thus, Paris 2024 will be only the second Summer Olympics after this decision.
Impact of the pandemic and expectations for 2024
The Tokyo Games, postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, negatively impacted the betting market. With the return of the Games to the regular calendar in 2024 and with the prospect of large audiences in all modalities, operators expect significant growth in betting volume.
Max Bichsel, executive vice president of Gambling.com Group North America, said: “The Olympics and gaming have looked at each other from afar for decades. This year we will see them come together.”
Jordan Bender, senior equity analyst at Citizens JMP, commented: “If you want to look at it from a year-over-year perspective for a company like DraftKings or FanDuel, it’s still going to have a relatively small impact. Obviously it’s positive, but it won’t be as big how much we think and a lot of that will depend on the audience.”
Legalization of betting in the USA and restrictions on Olympic events
Since the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, several states in the US have legalized sports betting, including New York, Ohio, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Florida. This means that most Olympic events can be legally bet on, although there are state-to-state variations in the specific events allowed.
Despite legalization, not all Olympic events are available for betting in all states. Massachusetts prohibits betting on subjectively judged events such as gymnastics, BMX, wrestling, break dancing, judo, diving, surfing and horse racing.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission reviewed this restriction in 2023 but chose to maintain it.
Favorites for medals according to Olympics bets
DraftKings has published odds showing Team USA as the -2,500 favorite to win the most medals at the Paris Olympics, while China is next at +1,000.
In the race for the most gold medals, the USA also leads with -750, followed by China with +350.
The opening ceremony of the Paris Games will be on July 26th and the event will end on August 11th. Paris is six hours ahead of US Eastern Time, and most events will be broadcast, with a daily wrap-up at 5pm Eastern Time.
Finally, expectations for betting on the Paris 2024 Olympic Games are high, driven by the expansion of legalization of betting in the USA and the favoritism of dozens of North American athletes in different sports.
Although some restrictions remain in some regions, the availability of betting in several states is expected to attract a large volume of bettors, increasing the economic impact of the event.
