Gold Rush: The Real Numbers behind Olympics Betting

This is a guest contribution by Julie Anderson a writer for VegasMaster Magazine.  If you would like to submit a contribution please contact Bill Beatty for submission details. Thank you.

The 2016 summer Olympics are just around the corner. Four long years have passed since the last summer Olympic Games, and now athletes from more than 200 nations are gearing up to participate in the variety of competitions held during this most famous sporting event in the world. As the athletes are training and fans and sports enthusiasts from around the world are looking forward to watching the games, there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes.

As with anything else that happens in the world today, the Olympics are all about business. While most economists remain skeptical about the benefits of hosting the games, there is also a lot of controversy surrounding the social impact of the games on the cities and countries that decide to host them. While the economists, politicians and their related committees are busy working out all of those messy details, there’s another industry gearing up for the arrival of the Olympics: the gambling industry.

Sports betting is as ancient a practice as the Olympic Games themselves. Today, betting and lotteries contribute such a large amount to the business surrounding the Olympic Games that the games may very well not even be able to take place without them. As sports betting through online casinos becomes more prevalent, the Olympics conversely generate a large revenue for the online casino industry. There is, of course, some controversy surrounding the gambling aspect of the Olympics as well. So, let’s take a look at the real numbers behind Olympics betting and just what kind of controversy we’re talking about.