Tokyo 2020 Olympics Betting Odds Preview
It’s a year late and there will be no fans in the stands, but the Olympics will finally begin in Tokyo later this week, giving bettors more than two weeks of games and events to wager on.
At Bovada Sportsbook, the oddsmakers have set OVER/UNDER totals for several countries for gold medals and overall medals to be won. We’ll take a look at a few of the more prominent countries, starting with the United States.
At Bovada, the gold medal total for the USA was set at 43.5 with the OVER a strong favorite at -170. Five years ago when the Olympics were held in Rio de Janeiro, Team USA won 46 gold medals. The overall medal total for Team USA in Tokyo was set at 112.5 with the OVER a -150 favorite. In Rio, the Americans beat that with 121 medals. However, in the three previous Summer Olympics, the USA did not top 112 medals.
China only country to rival U.S. in recent Games
China has been the only country to come close to the USA medal totals in recent Olympics and at Bovada their gold medal total was set at 37.5 with both the OVER and UNDER at -115. In Rio, the Chinese team won only 26 gold medals. China’s overall medal total was set at 85.5 with the UNDER a -130 favorite. China only won 70 medals in Rio, which was its lowest total since winning only 63 medals in Athens in 2004.
One last country’s totals we’ll look at is for the host, Japan. Not counting Brazil in 2016, the host country has typically been near the top of the medal board at recent Olympics. For Japan, the oddsmakers at Bovada have set their gold medal total at 25.5 with the OVER slightly favored at -120. In Rio, Japan won 12 gold medals. Japan’s overall medal total was set at 51.5 with the OVER a -130 favorite. In Rio, Japan won 41 medals.
Bromell favored to become new fastest man
One thing Tokyo will provide is a new men’s gold medalist in the 100 meters for the first time since 2004. Usain Bolt has dominated the event at the last three Olympics but now that he has retired, there will be a new fastest man. The gold medal favorite at Bovada is America’s Trayvon Bromell at -125. One underdog who could be worth a look is Canadian Andre De Grasse, who won bronze in Rio and is a +1000 underdog in Tokyo.
Another popular bet at the Olympics is men’s basketball. The American team has won six of the last seven gold medals with their only blemish in 2004 when the gold went to Argentina. Team USA’s squad of NBA stars is a -500 favorite to win gold this year. However, they have shown some weakness after losing pre-tournament exhibition games to Australia and Nigeria.
One last thing to remember when placing your Olympic bets. The pandemic is still going and there’s a state of emergency in Tokyo as COVID rates continue to surge. Despite precautions, it’s possible that several top contending athletes could test positive and miss their events. If this happens, it could lead to upsets and some big paydays for bettors. If you’re betting, keep an eye on the newswire and social media so you don’t miss the news if a major contender is suddenly pulled from their event.