As we prepare for the 2024 Paris Olympics, let’s take a look at what top U.S. sportsbooks have to offer.
The events don’t begin until July 26, giving us time to consider how to approach it, and while it is too soon to bet on individual events, we can still bet on countries.
I am interested in betting on which country will win the most overall medals.
Now, you might look at the odds and run away from this bet, as you might think that the Americans are the only realistic option and they are too heavily favored to invest in.
However, there is a certain glory that bettors experience when they wager on big underdogs and are successful doing so, and we don’t want you to miss out on this glory.
This bet is all the more attractive because worthwhile countries are available to invest in at great prices.
Picks Summary
- China (+1000)
- France (+10000)
*All odds from Bet365 (check our Bet365 Review)
2024 Paris Olympics
July 26 – August 11, 2024
The Odds
Team USA is favored at -2000 to win the most overall medals.
After USA comes China at +1000. The Chinese are followed by Great Britain and Japan at +5000.
The fifth-most favored country is France at +10000, while Italy and Australia follow France at +20000.
Please Don’t Bet On The Americans
I have encountered bettors who considered investing in the Americans, but please don’t make this mistake. You would have to risk a tremendous sum of money in order to get a worthwhile payout, and that risk is not worth taking.
It is never worth risking more than you can afford. And even if you can afford to invest such a large sum, the blow that your bankroll would suffer if the bet did not hit would set you back to a horrible extent.
You don’t want to be in the miserable position of having to fight back from a great deficit. When you place yourself under that kind of strain, you tend to bet with fear and anxiety. Betting loses its fun and you’ll tend to lose even more money.
While the Americans should win the most overall medals, that is no good reason to invest in them to do so. This might sound counterintuitive, but you’ll find that you have more success in betting when you don’t just think in terms of winners and losers. Instead, you should think in terms of prices.
Given the fact that there are differently priced odds, wager amounts, and payout amounts, betting is indeed largely a game of prices. You have to bet on the side that you think is priced most attractively.
While you will probably think, without odds, that the Americans will win the most medals, you have to measure this degree of confidence against the price in order to logically justify investing in them. Even apart from being afraid to lose a big amount, the price for the Americans is just too ridiculous.
Other Countries Are Enticing
For the sake of your mental health – because it must be nerve-wracking to invest in such a big favorite – and your financial health, and because it is the most reasonable thing to do in terms of finding attractive prices, we need to invest in other countries.
There are absolutely countries that are likable at the current prices, and investing in these countries is especially attractive because we can wager little in order to win a lot more because the payout potential is so attractive.
My two favorite countries are China and France.
Swimming
To justify investing in other countries, we would need to find it reasonable to think that the Americans will decline competitively.
The big key here is swimming because this sport offers 35 total medals.
I believe that USA will struggle in swimming because other countries are ascending. Canada has a teenage phenom in Summer McIntosh who has beaten Ledecky, which is crucial because the Americans really rely on Ledecky for medals.
But it is especially Australia, which, recently, has become a major threat. In the 2023 World Championships, the Australians beat the Americans for medals. Australia also dominated in gold medal count.
This sort of recent performance on an international stage suggests that USA is now easily threatened by other countries.
China is a more well-known quantity in swimming, with the international and Asian successes of its swimmers providing proof of their ability to make great times in various events.
Athletics
Track and field is even more important for the Olympics because 48 medals are available in this sport.
Both men and women in the sprinting events have to watch out for the Jamaicans. In the 100m race, for example, you can expect sub-ten seconds from the men and sub-eleven from the women, as evident in times that they’ve already achieved. Specifically, among others, watch out for Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Kishane Thompson.
While American sprinters will lose in medals thanks especially to Jamaican sprinters, the Africans will thrive in the distance events.
France and China
The Americans will lose a decisive number of medal opportunities in athletics and swimming.
They’ve always failed to medal in table tennis, trampoline, badminton, handball and rhythmic gymnastics.
The path is open for other countries to win more medals. I especially like China because of its recent ability to compete with America in the Olympics. China had just one fewer gold medal than USA in the last Summer Olympics. France, as the host country, has advantages in terms of finances and training that are unique to it.
With the Americans getting fewer medals and with China, thanks to its astronomical public investment in sports, having become a great international force as measured by Olympics medals and with France having unique advantages, it is clear who we should bet on.
Let’s wager a half-unit on both countries. If either country wins, then the payout will be tremendous.
The Pick: China (+1000) at Bet365
The Pick: France (+10000) at Bet365
*The line and/or odds referenced in this article might have changed since the content was published. For the latest information on line movements, visit OddsTrader’s free betting odds tool.
