Arizona sports betting interest set to remain high during Winter Olympics
When thinking of winter sports destinations, sunny saguaros and desert landscapes are not usually what comes to mind.
Even though they hail from Arizona, residents are eagerly looking forward to the 2022 Winter Olympics starting near Beijing on Friday. Operators are expecting a surge in sports betting activity in the Grand Canyon state.
The Arizona Department of Gaming updated its list of allowable bets on January 6 to include a range of Winter Olympics events, including ice hockey, figure skating, freestyle/cross-country skiing, bobsled, Nordic combined, ski jumping, snowboarding, and more.
Both BetMGM Arizona and DraftKings Sportsbook Arizona are mobile sports betting operators in the state that are expecting great success from betting on the Olympics.
The Impact of Winter Olympics Betting on Arizona
Following the conclusion of the Super Bowl on February 13, BetMGM Arizona will shift its focus to the Winter Olympics in order to continue providing entertainment for sports betting enthusiasts.
Darren Darby, a Sports Trader at BetMGM, highlighted in an email to yengols.com that as the football season comes to an end, there is a rising enthusiasm for the Winter Olympics among bettors. He also pointed out that with BetMGM expanding into new states, a greater number of bettors now have the chance to place wagers on the Olympics compared to previous years.
Arizona betting apps will offer fans an extra motivation to participate in the Games, even with a time difference of 15 hours.
In an email to yengols.com, Johnny Avello, Director of Sportsbook Operations at DraftKings Sportsbook Arizona, mentioned that despite the time difference, viewers will still be tuning in, participating, and placing bets on the Winter Olympics. He also noted that DraftKings is currently offering 39 events for betting.
“Tips for Arizonans to Place Bets on Events”
BetMGM Arizona’s mobile app has already posted odds for a range of sports events including alpine skiing, bobsledding, cross-country skiing, figure skating, freestyle skiing, hockey, luge, Nordic combined, skeleton, ski jumping, and snowboarding. Many of these events are currently being streamed on various websites.
Fans have the option to place bets on events such as the men’s downhill, women’s giant slalom, Super-G, or giant slalom in alpine skiing.
The betting odds for each racer in the upcoming races are listed beside their names. According to the odds, Norway’s Aleksander A. Kilde and Switzerland’s Beat Feuz are the leading contenders for the men’s downhill race, with both at +300. In addition to individual odds, there are also bets available for the nationality of the winner, the margin of victory, and the competitors who will place on the podium.
BetMGM Arizona users can choose to wager on the total gold medals and overall medals each country wins. The top countries on the gold medal board are Norway (-400), Germany (+600), Russia (+900), and the U.S. (+1400). On the overall medal list, the leading countries are Norway (-650), Russia (+800), Germany (+800), and the U.S. (+1400).
Participants from Arizona in the 2022 Winter Olympics
As expected, the 2022 Games have few participants from Arizona, primarily due to the state’s mild winter climate, with the exception of the mountainous regions in the north and areas near Tucson.
Five Olympians either come from Arizona or have trained there, including pair figure skaters Brandon Frazier, who was born in Phoenix, and Chris Knierim, who is originally from Tucson. U.S. female bobsledders Elana Meyers Taylor and Kaillie Humphries also train in the Valley.
One more promising young hockey player is 19-year-old Matt Knies, originally from Phoenix and a former member of the Phoenix Junior Coyotes. He has since transitioned to playing for the Tri-City Storm in the USHL and the University of Minnesota.
According to BetMGM, Frazier and Alexa Knierim have +2000 odds to win the gold medal in the pairs competition, while Taylor and Humphries are the favorites in the women’s bobsled and monobob events. The U.S. men’s hockey team has +275 odds to earn a spot on the medal stand.
Over the next few weeks, the quintet will be showcasing Arizona and its population of 7.2 million at the Winter Olympics, giving sports fans a hometown team to cheer for.
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Author
For more than seven years, Peterson Christopher has been reporting on sports and sports betting in Arizona. He has worked with ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly, and the Green Valley News prior to becoming the lead writer at yengols.com.
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