Wagering for the gold

Betting on the Olympics can be a challenge — there are plenty of odd sports (curling anyone?), unknown athletes (at least for most of us in the U.S.) and non-prime broadcast times. But a little action can add juice to the Olympic Games. Even if you’re not betting, the odds, posted as the games began, offer a snapshot of who’s favored in which sports.

The most exciting team sport at the Olympics may be hockey. The U.S. women are favorites at -140 to take gold (bet $140 to win $100). Next is Canada at +120 (bet $100 to win $120), followed by Finland at +1,600 (16-to-1), the Olympic Athletes of Russia at +2,500, and Sweden at +3,300.

(Note: Russia is banned due to substance-abuse violations, so its athletes are competing without the flag as the Olympic Athletes of Russia.)

In men’s hockey, the favorite is the Olympic Athletes of Russia at even money (+100), followed by Canada and Sweden, both at +450; Finland at +800; the Czech Republic at +900; and the United States at +1,000. Many of the world’s best hockey players will miss the Olympics due to commitments to the National Hockey League.

Shortly after the Olympics began, Norway remained the favorite (at -140) to win the most gold medals. Germany was next at +225, followed by the United States at +600 and Canada at +1,200. The Netherlands was at +2,500, the Olympic Athletes of Russia +3,300, and Olympic Games host Republic of Korea as well as France were both at +5,000.

In the women’s Super G (Friday, Feb. 16), U.S. skier Lindsay Vonn is the favorite at +110, followed by Italy’s Sofia Goggia at +350 and Switzerland’s Lara Gut at +700. Mikaela Shiffrin of the U.S. team is a longshot at +1,600.

Vonn is also the favorite in the women’s downhill (Saturday, Feb. 17) at -120, followed by Italy’s Sofia Goggia at +225 and Liechtenstein’s Tina Weirather at +900. Shiffrin is a longshot (+2,000) in this event, too.

In the alpine combined (Feb. 21), Shiffrin is the favorite at +120, followed by Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener at +285 and Italy’s Federica Brignone at +550.

If you’re interested in a sport that combines the finesse of shuffleboard with the broom skills of housecleaning, you’ll want to know the odds for curling, which will be decided the final weekend of the Games.

The favorite in men’s curling is Canada at -125, followed by Sweden at +225, Switzerland at +1,400, and Great Britain and Norway, both at +1,600. Canada, with its rich curling tradition, is also the favorite (-120) in the women’s event, followed by Sweden (+450) and Great Britain (+650).

Note that odds may change as the Olympic Games progress. For the latest: https://sports.bovada.lv/ winter-olympics