2024 Olympic Games in Paris See Record-Breaking Betting Interest

Olympic betting experienced a record amount of interest at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. When compared to the Tokyo Olympics three years prior, the betting volumes for the event in the French capital were doubled.

Entain, an international sports betting and gaming firm based in London, UK, reported that worldwide bettors doubled the amount of money wagered on the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, making the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris the most popular to now.

The most favored sports for bettors during the event in Paris were:

1. Basketball
2. Football
3. Tennis
4. Volleyball
5. Handball
6. Golf
7. Beach Volleyball
8. Athletics
9. Table Tennis
10. Swimming

Newcomer Swimming Replaces Water Polo in Top 10, Notable Jump in Popularity for Athletics

Swimming, starred by Katie Ledecky (who became the first female swimmer ever to win the same event, the 1,500m freestyle, at four consecutive Olympic Games), has entered the top 10, taking the place of water polo. An American also won her ninth gold medal at the Olympics. The men’s basketball final between the USA and France was the most watched single-day event, seeing a lot of betting interest from bookmakers that accept Giropay and others.

Athletics (track & field) had a tremendous increase in popularity, rising into the top 10. The men’s 100-meter final was the most-watched athletics event in Paris. After less than stellar performances in the heats and semifinals, American favorite Noah Lyles prevailed, providing bookmakers with a hefty return as his price moved from 5/4 to 9/2. On the other hand, the men’s 1,500m final proved to be the most profitable for bookies, with outsider Cole Hocker, who was favored at 20/1, surprising Josh Kerr and Jakob Ingebrigtsen in what was supposed to be a head-to-head match between the last two.

Olympics Are Stage for Many Sports, Historically Less Popular with Bettors, to Shine

A wide array of betting chances was offered by the 2024 Paris Olympics, which saw 329 gold medals won, and 32 world records broken in 32 sports involving almost 2,000 events. Customers of bookmakers had a more convenient window to watch, enjoy, interact with, and wager on the games and the athletes due to the Paris time zone (as opposed to Tokyo).

The Olympics provide numerous sports that have historically been less popular among bettors a chance to shine. Swimming, field hockey, rowing, surfing, archery, canoeing, and climbing all saw a spike in betting interest in this edition of the games, with each sport seeing a doubling of betting volume over the Tokyo Olympics.

There’s little doubt that interest in betting on the biggest sporting event in the world is on the rise.