How well did the betting business go at the Olympic Games?

The 2024 Summer Olympics are over after just under three weeks. A total of over 300 competitions took place, in which the 206 participating countries competed for medals. In the end, however, it was not only the athletes who were delighted with their medals, but also the betting providers who enjoyed impressive turnover during the Olympic Games.

Just a few weeks ago, an important sporting event for betting providers ended with the 2024 European Football Championship in Germany. At GambleJoe, we reported, among other things, that up to one billion euros in bets were forecast in Germany during the European Football Championship alone. However, the Summer Olympics, which ended on 11 August, are similarly important for the bookmakers' balance sheets, at least in France.

France: players wagered around 360 million euros during the Olympic Games

The Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) stated that players in France alone bet around 360 million euros on sports betting on the competitions. Compared to the last Olympic Games in Tokyo, this would be an increase of around three times as much.

Less surprising is the fact that football and tennis are also among the most popular sports among betting fans at the Olympic Games. In addition, the sports of handball, rugby, basketball and swimming also enjoyed great popularity due to the successful athletes from France.

Sports betting providers turned over around 360 million euros during the Olympic Games in France. However, this amount is low compared to the European Football Championships in Germany. As mentioned above, betting turnover of one billion euros was forecast for the European Football Championships in Germany. In France, 650 million euros were realised during the football tournament, almost twice as much as during the Summer Olympics in Paris.

The French placed 5.5 million euros in bets on swimming alone

According to the French gambling authority, the fact that a total of 5.5 million euros was wagered on sports betting during swimming is particularly impressive. That is more than six times as much as at the last Olympic Games in Tokyo.

The gambling authority in France further assumes that the betting volume at the Summer Olympics totalled around 9 billion euros worldwide. Unfortunately, there were no exact betting turnover figures for Germany specifically, which were recorded during the Olympic Games.

Image source: https://pixabay.com/de/photos/eiffelturm-paris-frankreich-3349075/