The Olympic Games are a massive, international sports competition that celebrates the pinnacle of athletic prowess in the modern world. Over 200 nations participate in the quadrennial event, showcasing their best athletes in various winter and summer sports disciplines.
The sheer scale of the competition and furore surrounding it make the Olympic Games an excellent choice for online sports betting , offering an incredibly diverse range of betting markets and opportunities to take advantage of unique proposition bets. If you’re interested in Olympics betting, read on to learn more about when, where and how you can place your bets on the Olympic Games!
The Olympic Games are the world’s principal sports competition held every four years, alternating between the Summer and Winter Olympics every two years. The event has been governed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) since 1894, with the continued help of national sports federations and other regulatory bodies. In partnership with National Olympic Committees, the IOC promotes sports, culture and education based on three core values: excellence, friendship and respect.
Since the introduction of the modern Olympic Games, cities across the globe have rivalled for the rights to host the event. The Olympic Games are a one-of-a-kind, lucrative opportunity — the spike in tourism and foreign investment as a result of hosting the Olympics, and the accompanying Paralympic Games, can lead to an economic boom. Additionally, the infrastructure built for the Olympic events will continue to serve the city long after the closing ceremony, and that’s not to mention the everlasting pride of hosting the world’s biggest and most explosive sporting event.
National Olympic Committees place their bids years in advance of the competition, as selection and voting usually take place seven years before the event. Any candidate city is thoroughly evaluated based on its hosting capacity, security, business model and other criteria, like compliance with regulations issued by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Cities whose bids have been accepted go through a rigorous, ten-month audit to ensure that they have what it takes to host the colossal event.
Selected host cities are usually those that can already accommodate a large influx of visitors and have adequate facilities for Olympic sports, which is often seen as a guarantee of continued success following the Olympics. The costs of hosting and running the Olympics are immense; thus, cities that lack suitable accommodation are often eliminated in the first round of voting or withdraw their candidature in the early stages.
If you’d like to bet on the Olympics, keep tabs on LV BET! Once the Olympic schedule settles into place, we’ll keep you up to date with upcoming events and excellent Olympics betting markets with equally outstanding odds.
The Olympic Games honoured Zeus and were an integral part of ancient Greek society, with the earliest written records of the sporting event dating back to the 8th century BC. The Olympics were the oldest and largest of the Panhellenic Games — four separate sporting festivals — which drew in thousands of spectators and athletes from various Greek city-states. In fact, a three-month truce was officially declared before the event, forbidding all hostilities to ensure safety for those travelling to the festival.
The event took place every four years and was named in honour of Mount Olympus and the location where the Olympics were held — Olympia, Greece. The first Olympic champion was cook Coroebus of Elis, who won the sprint race in 776BC, the competition’s only event at the time. In the decades to follow, other sports and disciplines were included to the Olympic Games, such as various athletics disciplines, wrestling, long jump, javelin throw, discus throw and the pentathlon.
Unfortunately, Roman conquest of the Greek peninsula brought about the end of the early Olympic Games when emperor Theodosius I outlawed all pagan celebrations in AD394. The Olympic Games were revived in the late 19th century, when educator and historian Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee in 1984. Just two years after, the first modern Olympics were held in Athens, featuring 43 events in athletics, track and field, cycling , fencing, gymnastics, shooting, swimming, tennis , weightlifting and wrestling.
Since 1896, the Olympics were cancelled only three times: in 1916, 1940 and 1944. In 2020, the Olympic Games were postponed for the first and only time due to a global pandemic.
The first meeting in 776BC was a simple footrace; today, the Olympics feature over 400 events in multiple sports disciplines, ranging from athletics and boxing to equestrian jumping and archery.
The Summer Olympics are the larger of the two events, mostly due to the greater number of featured sports. The Summer Olympics programme comprises over 30 different sports, with nearly 50 disciplines and more than 300 events. Popular summer sports include tennis, basketball , volleyball , weightlifting, swimming, track and field, water sports and football .
The Summer Olympics typically last two to three weeks and usually begin anywhere between July and October, depending on the location of the host city. Paris, Los Angeles and Brisbane are due to host the 2024, 2028 and 2032 Summer Olympics, respectively.
Olympics betting can be just as entertaining in the wintertime, when sports like figure skating, snowboarding, alpine skiing , speed racing and biathlon are in the limelight. The Winter Olympics programme features 15 sports, categorised as ice sports, Nordic events or alpine, skiing and snowboarding disciplines.
Due to the nature of winter sports, host cities must demonstrate their ability to provide adequate winter-sport facilities and conditions, which is why you will often see countries like Norway, Canada, United States, Russia and Sweden throw in their bids.
The Winter Olympics are usually held in early February, spanning two weeks of snow-stopping competition. Italy won the 2026 Winter Olympics bid and will host the event in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.
When placing your Olympics bets, you’ll see that your betting options are as diverse as the Olympic events themselves. The most common Olympics betting markets are on the medalists, of course, with straightforward options to wager on the gold, silver and bronze finalists on any event. Other widespread markets include finishing time, distance, disqualifications and whether a world or Olympic record would be broken.
Depending on the Olympic sport of your choosing, you may encounter unique propositions, often based on the sport’s scoring system. When in doubt, it’s always best to thoroughly research the sport, teams and individual athletes before dabbling in Olympics betting. This massive event is an excellent opportunity for punters who enjoy a diverse range of sports, but in-depth knowledge and familiarity with the Olympics betting markets are integral to an enjoyable betting experience. Whether you’re interested in football betting or wagering on Muay Thai during the next Olympics — you’ll need to come prepared.
At LV BET , we guarantee that you’ll get to enjoy top Olympics odds on events featured in the competition. Sports like boxing , football, 3x3 basketball, ice hockey , swimming and track and field are incredibly popular among our punters, but you’ll also find other disciplines, like kayaking, race walking, field hockey and judo .
You’ll be able to place pre-match Olympics bets once the individual events and athletes are locked in place and scheduled, but you’ll have to wait until the end of an event for the bet settlement. Some bets, like which countries will leave the competition with the most medals, will be settled when the last Olympic event concludes.
If you’re like us, then you’re probably going to watch the action unfold along with the rest of the world. To help you manage your Olympics bets and take advantage of in-play markets and odds with minimal distractions, you can use our progressive web app or our downloadable Sportsbook app . We’ll present everything you need to know in a mobile-friendly format, and you’ll be able to enjoy features like early Cash-out and Live Match Tracking with ease — at home or on the go.
When it comes to the world’s biggest sporting event, we’ve got you covered. At LV BET, you’ll find everything you need to get started on Olympics online betting, including an excellent choice of betting markets with competitive Olympics odds.
When the big day rolls around, visit our Sportsbook and explore our wide range of markets on popular Olympic sports like gymnastics, athletics, rugby, weightlifting and tennis. You can place pre-match and in-play bets, and our mobile app will help you every step of the way. Install our progressive web app by adding it to your home screen, or download the LV BET Sportsbook app on Google Play or the App Store to enjoy the best of sports betting!
www.lvbet.com is operated by Fairload Ltd. which is registered under the laws of the European Union member state of Malta. It has registration number C71200 with registered address at 115B, Old Mint Street, Valletta, VLT1515, Malta. Fairload Ltd. operates under the MGA gaming licence MGA/B2C/282/2015 issued by Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), Malta's single regulatory body. It is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 (or min. legal age, depending on the region) to open an account and/or to gamble with lvbet.com. The Company reserves the right to request proof of age from any customer and may suspend an account until adequate verification is received. Gambling can be addictive. Play Responsibly. You can contact www.rgf.org.mt, www.gam-anon.org, www.gamblingtherapy.org, or visit our Responsible Gaming page.
Your Betslip is empty. Click on the odds to add the bet.