Best Bookmaker for the Olympics

#	Brand	Bonus	Visit Site	Ready To Play?
1.		25% Instant Bonus	BetOnline
2.		25% Instant Bonus	SportsBetting Poker

Latest News/Updates

23rd July – Only a few days left to begin the games and it seems Olympics gambling will be huge again. Check back shortly to find some valuable predictions for the upcoming competitions in these times of the year where there’s hardly any sports leagues underway.

Background

The Olympic Games provides a host of sports betting opportunities with all the major sports books. The 2012 Olympic Games are set to take place in London and sports betting has been a tradition in the UK for hundreds of years. The 2012 London Olympic Games will bring together all of the tradition and excitement of the Olympics with the sports gambling culture of Great Britain. At this summer’s Games there will plenty of betting opportunities in every Olympic sport. The bookmakers will not be taking any risks by chalking up odds too early on individual events until the full list of competitors is known, but once the Games are under way you can expect a huge range of betting opportunities from the athletics arena to the football pitch.

Opening Ceremony on 26th July

The Olympic events are scheduled to begin on 26th July with the opening ceremony, but several events will already be underway, most notably the football and the archery competitions. This year’s Olympics closing ceremony is scheduled for 12 August so that means, in the course of just seventeen days of pulsating action, 26 Olympic sports across 38 disciplines will be taking place. This obviously creates a huge amount of betting opportunities within a very short space of time. Many sports fans will be taking a holiday to be able to enjoy the wall-to-wall coverage of the Games being beamed live around the World. Many of the events are short and dynamic meaning that your bets can be settled quickly in time for the next event on the agenda.

Olympic Betting Markets

USA is a shade of odds-on to win the Gold medal table but are sure to be pressed all the way by China. It is seen as a two-horse race with odds of 50-1 or bigger against any other nation topping the gold medal table.

There is a similar look about the betting market on the most medals table with USA available at around even money ahead of China. This market is slightly more competitive with Russia rated a 9-1 chance and 40-1 bar these three.

The Olympic Specials Outright betting available on Great Britain offers markets on total number of Gold medals won, total number of silver medals won and colour of medals won most. There are also Olympic Specials Outright markets on China, France, Germany, Italy and South Korea.

Once the Olympics get started, there will be betting on every conceivable sport taking place. If you consider yourself something of an expert in your field, then there could be some great value betting opportunities for those “in the know”.

There are twenty-eight different sports covered in the 2012 Olympics:

Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Boxing, Canoe Slalom, Canoe Sprint, Cycling BMX, Cycling Mountain Bike, Cycling Road, Cycling Track, Diving, Equestrian Dressage, Equestrian Eventing, Equestrian Jumping, Fencing, Football, Gymnastics Artistic, Gymnastics Rhythmic, Gymnastics Trampoline, Handball, Hockey, Judo, Modern Pentathlon, Rowing, Sailing, Shooting, Swimming, Synchronised Swimming, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis, Triathlon, Volleyball, Water Polo, Weightlifting and Wrestling.

Olympic Betting Strategy


It is unlikely that a serious punter will be familiar enough with each of these sports to place informed bets on all 28 of them. Obviously it pays to be smart so a sensible approach would be to plan your betting activity and make a short list of those events that you intend to specialise in. Remember, the London 2012 Olympics are handing out 302 gold medals, the largest number in Olympic Games history. The inclusion of more obscure games like handball, water polo, and the modern pentathlon event are new territory to most fans of sports betting, but are certain to attract interest with the Olympics live television coverage.

Online sports betting for Olympic events will inevitably focus on the most popular sports. The football/soccer is certain to be one of the main betting attractions at this Olympics and men’s basketball is always popular. Football is a hugely popular sport across the world with millions of fans but nowhere is it more popular than in the UK. It’s been an integral part of the Olympics since its debut in 1908 and the 2012 Games looks like being one of the most competitive in recent times.

The football begins with a group stage and the best eight teams going forward to the quarter-finals. The football kicks off on 25th July, finishing with the men’s gold medal match on 11th August. Great Britain will be keen to be well represented in one of its most popular sports and this should heighten the interest in football as an Olympic event this year. Stuart Pearce, who briefly managed the national side before Roy Hodgson’s recent appointment, will be in charge of team selection for the Olympics and will be keen to offer chances to those players who narrowly missed out on Euro 2012 selection.

The top athletic events such as the 100m and 200m always attract a lot of investments and the host nation will be out in force to support their favourite athletes throughout the games. It may pay to try and remain neutral and look for those athletes who are peaking at the right time. The speed events go through qualifying rounds which is rather like watching the trials for a big horse race. You can pick out athletes who seem able to coast through the heats with relative ease, saving themselves for the final.

Of course, the bookmakers will be careful to make sure that they have a good knowledge of athletes but it is unfamiliar ground for many of them and you could get some bargain prices by shopping around. The strength of internet betting has increased greatly in recent years and you will be well placed to snap up the best value from the comfort of your own home.

Well-known athletes such as Usain Bolt, the fastest man in the world, or popular British athlete Jessica Ennis in the heptathlon will be obvious favourites with the betting public. They will be very short priced favourites to take Gold but don’t be blinded by the hype and look at all of the athletic events with a keen eye for value. Above all, enjoy the feast of top quality sport at the 2012 London Olympics!

Author Profile: Stefan+