The best athletes in the world are assembling in France for the 33rd Summer Olympic Games, with the Opening Ceremony taking place along the River Seine on Friday July 26th.

Here at talkSPORT we are covering the games in depth, and to get you in the mood we have produced a Paris 2024 Olympics free bets guide. In our guide we bring you the best betting tips, the athletes to look out for, and all the information you need to know for betting on the latest edition of the modern Games.  

🏆 Best Olympic free bets and betting sites 

Betting on the Olympics is going to be huge, and all the best betting sites will have plenty of markets to choose from on every event. If you are looking for the best place to wager on Paris 2024, fear not, you are in the right place.

Below we have all the best bookmakers for betting on the 2024 Summer Olympics: 

The Summer 2024 Olympics Paris betting tips

An estimated 10,000 competitors will be fighting it out over 16 days as they look to achieve their lifelong aims of winning an Olympic medal. Sadly, only the best will win the medals up for grabs in the 32 sports contested at the games. 

Nevertheless, there are 329 medal events, and that means we can expect to see plenty of exciting action as some of the world’s best athletes compete for that medal that could change their life forever. Here we look at some of the best 2024 Paris Olympics betting tips:   

🎾 Tip #1:  Carlos Alcaraz Men’s Tennis Singles – 11/8

Fresh from his wins at the French Open and Wimbledon, Carlos Alcaraz is in a great place to add an Olympic gold to his incredible list of accomplishments he has already achieved in 2024. 

The Spaniard will be up against Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, and none other than Rafael Nadal as he bids to win Olympic gold at the first attempt. 

Olympic gold in the men’s singles is the only title that has eluded Djokovic in his illustrious career. Sinner is the current World No.1 in the men’s game and will feel he has underachieved in recent weeks. And who could write off Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros, the scene of the King of Clay’s unbelievable 14 French Open titles.

The problem for Djokovic, Sinner and Nadal is Carlos Alcaraz. In recent weeks he has just blazed a trail in the sport. First winning the French Open at the venue of the Olympic tournament, and then dismantling the greatest player ever, Novak Djokovic, at Wimbledon just a few weeks later. 

A first gold medal for Carlos Alcaraz at the Paris Olympics looks inevitable.

✨ Bet on Carlos Alcaraz to win a gold medal at 11/8 with bet365 ✨

🤸 Tip #2: Katarina Johnson-Thompson Women’s Heptathlon – 5/2

Katarina Johnson-Thompson is a two-time World Champion. Unfortunately, Nafissatou Thiam is a two-time Olympic champion. Throw in Anna Hall of the USA, and there is a top-quality three-way fight to win the women’s Heptathlon in Paris. 

For those of us who are old enough to remember the glory days of Daley Thomspon (no relation to KJT), we know only too well how difficult it is to win three successive Olympic golds in track and field combined events. 

Nafi Thiam didn’t participate in the 2023 World Championships won by KJT, but Hall did. KJT knows she can beat Hall, but to win an Olympic gold, she will have to beat both Thiam and Hall. 

On this occasion we want Thiam to replicate Daley Thompson and not make it three successive golds, opening the door for Katarina Johnson-Thompson to win at 5/2.

✨ Bet on Katarina Johnson-Thompson to win at 5/2 with Betfred ✨

⚽ Tip #3: Spain’s Men to win Olympic football – 5/2

Okay, this may upset England football fans, and I understand that. But how good was Spain in the recent Euros? 

Yes, it’s not the same squad who will be competing in the Olympics. But the Spanish youngsters are good. 

Unfortunately, there is no Lamine Yamal. But his Barca teammates Pau Cubarsi, Eric Garcia and Fermin Lopez are all in Spain’s hugely talented squad.

England defeated the Spanish Under 21s at the 2023 European Championship. The majority of that squad is coming to the Olympics. 

France are the favourites to win the gold at 21/10. But Spain is 5/2. Who looks the better value bet? As England fans know to their cost, and Scottish fans know to their joy, it’s Spain.

✨ Bet on Spain to win the gold at 5/2 with talkSPORT BET ✨

🏌️ Tip #4: Scottie Scheffler to win Men’s Golf – 4/1

Scottie Scheffler is the world No.1 ranked golfer. He has dominated his sport in 2024, winning six events on the PGA tour, including the Masters. In the recent Open Championship, Scheffler handled the conditions better than expected, finishing a respectable T7.

The course at Le Golf National in Guyancourt will suit Scheffler more than the elements of Royal Troon last weekend. And with American’s winning all four Majors in 2024, it wouldn’t be a huge shock to see one snare the Olympic gold in Paris. 

✨ Back Scottie Scheffler to win Men’s Golf at 4/1 with bet365 ✨

🚴 Tip #5: Tom Pidcock Men’s Cycling Road Race – 8/11

Tom Pidcock has two chances of winning gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Ineos Grenadier team member already has an Olympic gold in the bag, having won the mountain bike event at Tokyo.

Pidcock is doubling up in Paris, but it’s his chances of winning the road race that we are liking the look of. The favourites are the sprinters, with Pidcock a massive outsider at 33/1. 

France’s Julian Alaphilippe has won two road race World Championships. The French see him as a medal prospect. So if the course suits Alaphilippe, it will almost certainly suit the 24-year-old Pidcock, who also has age on his side against the 32-year-old Frenchman. 

If it comes down to a bunch sprint, then Pidcock will be out of the running. But the course looks tailor-made for a Alaphilippe-style lone breakaway, which is something Pidcock also excels in. 

Furthermore, Pidcock had to abandon the recent Tour de France after Stage 13 with Covid-19, meaning he is fresher than he might have been heading to the Games.

✨ Back Pidcock to win Men’s Cycling Road Race at 8/11 with Sky Bet ✨

Types of bets you can make at the 2024 summer Olympics

The summer Olympics in Paris is one of the highest profile sporting events taking place across the globe in 2024. As a result, there is plenty of interest, and that also means plenty of betting markets to get stuck into.

Bets can be placed on a nation or individual person winning an event, and also on either winning a medal of any colour (finishing in the top three). Also popular are bets on which nation will top the medals table, and what country will win the most medals. Here we take a look at some of the most popular markets in more detail:

• 🎖️ Most Gold Medals: This is a bet on which nation wins the most gold medals. The USA are favourites at 1/6. China are second in the betting at 7/2, with France at 66/1 and Team GB at 80/1.
• 🎖️ Most Medals: Simply a bet on which nation will win the most medals of any colour. Again the USA leads the way in the betting at 1/20. China is seen as the biggest threat to the US at 10/1, with Great Britain third in the betting at 50/1.
• 🎖️ Total Gold Medals: This is an over/under spread bet on each nation individually. The nation with the highest spread is America. The US is 8/11 to win over 39.5 gold medals and 1/1 to win under 39.5 golds. Great Britain has a spread of 15.5, Team GB is 8/15 to win more that 15.5 golds and 11/8 to win under 15.5. 
• 🎖️ Total Medals: Like with the Total Gold Medals, this is a similar bet but it is over/under the total amount of medals won by a nation. Again, the USA has the highest spread. They are 5/6 to win over 122.5 medals and 5/6 to win under 122.5. Team GB has a lower spread of 62.5. They are 5/6 for both over and under.

List of sports on the Paris Olympics 2024

Getting on the list of sports involved in a Summer Olympic Games isn’t easy. Some like athletics, swimming, and rowing are part of the fabric of the games. While some like mountain biking and from 2028 onwards, cricket, have had to fight hard to get recognition. 

In total there are 32 sports contested at the summer games. The full list is:

• Aquatics (Swimming/Water Polo)
• Archery
• Athletics
• Badminton
• Basketball
• Boxing
• Breaking
• Canoeing
• Climbing
• Cycling
• Equestrian
• Fencing
• Field hockey
• Football
• Golf
• Gymnastics
• Handball
• Judo
• Modern pentathlon
• Rowing
• Rugby sevens
• Sailing
• Shooting
• Skateboarding
• Surfing
• Table tennis
• Taekwondo
• Tennis
• Triathlone
• Volleyball
• Weight lifting
• Wrestling

Who are Team GB’s athletes?

Team GB is taking 327 athletes to the 2024 Paris Olympics. The breakdown is 174 women and 153 men. Paris will be the second successive Games that the British women have outnumbered the men. Some will be names you have never heard of. While plenty of others are household name athletes, some of which are expected to bring home medals.

Dina Asher-Smith

GB sprint queen Dina Asher-Smith comes to the 2024 Games in some of the best form of her career. Unfortunately for the 28-year-old, she is competing in one of the strongest eras ever known in women’s sprinting.

Asher-Smith already has two Olympic medals. She has picked up bronze twice in the women’s 4×100 metres. The first was won in Rio and the second in Tokyo. But it’s the individual medal that eludes Asher-Smith. 

In the 100 metres, Asher-Smith is 20/1. The favourite is Sha’Carri Richardson at 3/5, with Shericka Jackson next at 4/1. 

In the 200 metres, Asher-Smith is the fifth favourite at 12/1. At the very least, she is in the mix to win something in either event.

Keely Hodgkinson

22-year-old Keely Hodgkinson is the golden girl of British middle-distance running. Already a decorated Olympian, Hodgkinson picked up the silver medal at the Tokyo games when it was held three years ago.

This time around, Hodgkinson is looking to go one better. She is favourite to win the gold at 1/3, and anything other than the top place on the podium will be regarded as a failure, especially with Athing Mu tripping during the US Olympic Trials and failing to make the team.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson

It’s surely now or never for KJT to finally get her hands on an elusive Olympic medal. 

Johnson-Thomspon is well able to win this event. The 31-year-old has two World Championship golds won in 2019 and 2023 to prove she belongs in elite company.

It will be tough for KJT, though. The betting favourite is two-time Olympic champion Nafissatou Thiam at 4/5. But winning gold in the Heptathlon in three successive Games is also a hell of an ask for the betting favourite from Belgium. 

Also in the mix is Anna Hall. Like KJT, Hall is also 5/2 joint-second favourite in what is shaping up to be a great three-way battle for the gold.

Emma Finucane

Cycling has been a successful hunting ground for British gold medals in recent years, but with Laura Trott and Victoria Pendleton both retired, Team GB has been looking for someone to pick up the baton.

Step forward Emma Finucane, a 21-year-old track cyclist from Carmarthen in Wales. Dame Laura Trott, no less, has endorsed Finucane, suggesting she can become the first female cyclist to win three golds at one Games. 

Finucane picked up gold in the 2023 World Championships Sprint and silver in the Team Sprint. And this year she also won gold at the European Championships Sprint, along with silvers in the Team Sprint and the Kerwin. 

Andy Murray

Murray has just announced that the 2024 Paris Games will be his final event before he retires from tennis. It seems harsh to say that Murray is just making up the numbers in Paris, but can anybody really see him beating Alcaraz, Djokovic or Sinner over three sets?

Murray already has two gold medals in the men’s singles. He won in London in 2012 and again in Rio in 2016. The three-time Grand Slam winner also has a mixed doubles silver medal to his name, won alongside Laura Robson in 2012.  

Murray is also competing in the men’s doubles with Dan Evans. His best chance of adding to his Olympic medals tally would have to be in that event.  

Max Whitlock

31-year-old Max Whitlock is competing in his final Olympics in Paris, he is also retiring after the games. 

Whitlock has won six medals, three gold and three silver. Two of his golds came in his favoured Pommel Horse event at the Rio and Tokyo games.

Whitlock is again one of the favourites to win the Pommel Horse gold in 2024, but will face stiff competition from Ireland’s Rhys McClenaghan and Stephen Nedoroscik of the USA.

Adam Peaty

Once unbeatable, Adam Peaty’s dominance in the pool is now over and he is no longer certain to bring home the gold medal in 2024. 

Peaty has five Olympic medals, three golds and two silver. Two of his golds were won in the 100 m breaststroke. One was won in Rio, the other in Tokyo. Peaty is 6/5 second favourite to win gold again in 2024. China’s Haiyang Qin is the even money favourite.   

Tom Pidock

The Tokyo 2020 gold medal winner is doubling up at Paris 2024. As well as defending his men’s cross-country mountain bike title he won in the last Olympics, Pidcock is also taking part in the men’s road race in Paris.

Pidcock is a talented allrounder on a bike, well able to compete on many fronts. The mountain bike race obviously suits him. But don’t underestimate his chances in the road race on August 3rd, which has a route that could be to Pidcoks’s liking.

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2024 Olympics betting strategies and tips

With 32 sports and 329 medal events, it’s going to be impossible to be across the action in every sport and every event at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Therefore the best Olympics betting strategy tip is to stick to what you know.

If you know about football and you like football betting, then follow the Olympic football competition. And the same will apply in every event at the Paris Games. 

Another strategy you can use is to focus on a country and their athletes. The Jamaican and American athletes look set to dominate the sprint events in the track and field. The Americans are also likely to be the best betting picks to win both the men’s and women’s golf events.  

Some examples of what nations are strong at which sports can be found below:

🇺🇸 USA

At the Tokyo Olympics, the USA won a staggering 30 medals in the swimming pool and 26 in track and field events. Stick to betting on the USA in these events in Paris, and also keep an eye on them in both the men’s and women’s golf tournaments.

🇨🇳 China

China is a rival to the USA in the medals table. In order to topple the US, the Chinese will again focus on diving, gymnastics, and shooting in Paris. 

At the Tokyo Games, diving accounted for 12 of China’s 89 medal haul. Gymnastics and shooting both secured 11 medals each. 

🇯🇵 Japan

Coming off the back of a home Olympics, there is a good chance Japan will be extremely competitive again at the Paris Games.

In the Judo, Japan dominated at Tokyo, winning 12 medals, including nine golds. The Japanese are also strong in wrestling, where they landed seven medals in their home Games.

🇬🇧 Great Britain  

Team GB has been extremely strong in cycling, swimming, sailing, rowing and boxing in recent games. 

A lot of the legendary cyclists and rowers are now gone, but there are still plenty of youngsters coming through in a variety of different sports who can help fill the void and keep the Brits near the top of the Paris medal table.  

🇦🇺 Australia

The Aussies managed to bag themselves an impressive 21 medals in the swimming pool in Tokyo. 

Along with the Americans, Australia are a force in the swimming pool and although they may struggle to win as many medals in Paris, we still expect the Aussies to take home an impressive haul. 

As well as swimming, look out for the Aussies in rowing, athletics and canoeing, where they are more than competitive.

🇩🇪 Germany 

The Germans won an impressive seven canoeing medals at the Tokyo Games in 2021. Included in that haul was two golds, one silver and four bronze medals. 

Germany also picked up four medals in equestrian, and three in each of athletics, judo, sailing and swimming.

🇫🇷 France 

At the Tokyo Games, France secured eight medals in judo. The French will be expecting to maintain that high standard in Paris, alongside fencing (five medals) and sailing (three medals), where they also enjoyed plenty of success in Japan. 

With it being a home Games, the French will also be looking to do well in the football and the rugby sevens. 

Popular sports to bet on at the Olympics

Some of the signature sports at any modern summer Olympics are athletics, swimming, cycling and rowing. But they don’t hold the monopoly as the most popular sports to bet on at the games.

Other sports that can prove popular are football and rugby sevens. In France, these are sports that the host nation will believe they can win. 

Below we take a closer look at some of the more popular markets:

🏊 Swimming

At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Australia amassed a colossal 21 medals in swimming. The breakdown was nine golds, three silvers and nine bronze medals. The USA bettered that, Team USA won 30 medals in the pool.  

🏀 Basketball

The US men’s basketball team is 1/5 to win gold in Paris in 2024. Included in the squad are legendary NBA names such as LeBron James (one of Team USA’s Flag Bearers), Kevin Durrant and Steph Curry. 

In total, the US men’s basketball team has won medals at all 19 Olympic Games it has entered. This includes 16 golds, with the most recent victory coming at the Tokyo Games held in 2021. 

🏌️ Golf

The sport of golf was originally held in the Olympics back in the 1900s. The event was scrapped from the 1908 Games, and had to wait until 2016 in Rio to finally be welcomed back. 

Since reintroduction, Justin Rose won the men’s gold and Inbee Park won the women’s gold in Rio. While in Tokyo, Xander Schauffele won the men’s and Nelly Korda the women’s in a clean sweep for the USA.

All the top players in the world for both the men’s and women’s competitions will be taking part in France. Golf enthusiasts can also place bets on these exciting matches through the best golf betting sites.

Again, the USA looks set to dominate. Scottie Scheffler is the 4/1 favourite to win the men’s event, and Nelly Korda is 6/1 to win the women’s gold medal. 

In total, the USA has won the men’s golf gold three times and the women’s gold twice.

🏃 Athletics 100 metres

The 100 metres is the blue ribbon event at any Olympics and Paris 2024 is no different. The USA and Jamaica have dominated both the men’s and women’s races in recent years, and that looks set to continue in 2024.

In the men’s event, Kishane Thompson of Jamaica is the favourite at 23/20, with Noah Lyons of the USA second favourite at 15/8. In the women’s event, the 3/5 favourite is Sha’Carri Richardson of the USA. Shericks Jackson of Jamaica is second favourite at 4/1.

A combination of Usain Bolt, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Elaine Thompson-Herah have seen Jamaica win seven of the last eight gold medals in the 100 metres for men and women across the last four Games.  

🏅 Who won the most medals at the Olympics last year?

In the Tokyo Games held in 2021 (it was held over for a year due to the global pandemic), Team USA was the most successful country with 113 medals in total. Second in the medals table was China with 89 medals. 

The USA also won the most golds, landing 39, just one more than China who managed an impressive 38 gold medals. 

The medals table is decided by which nation wins the most golds. So it is possible to win more golds and less medals, and still top the medals table. 

To get around this, the bookmakers usually have two markets. One for the nation that wins the most golds, and one for the nation that wins the most medals. 

Which country has historically won the most medals at the Olympics? 

Historically, the most successful nation in the Olympics is the United States with an impressive 1061 golds, 830 silvers, and 738 bronze medals.

It gets complicated after that, as countries have broken up or merged over the history of the games. 

For example, Russia is the second most successful nation, but that has come under the banner of the Soviet Union and the ROC. 

Further muddying the waters is Germany. The East was very successful at the Games, so there is a German record with and without the contributions made when the country was split.  

FAQ

Betting on the Olympics can look very daunting. There are 32 sports listed, and included in those sports are numerous events, with 329 medal presentations. That’s a lot of betting markets. So in order to help you better understand betting on the Olympics, we have put together a helpful list of questions and answers below: 

1. Is it legal to bet on the Olympics in the UK?

Yes, it is legal to bet on the Olympic games in the UK. Our extensive list of bookmakers on this page all accept Olympic wagers from UK customers.

2. Where can I bet on the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics?

You can bet on the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics with any of the betting sites listed on this page. With so many events taking place, patience is required, as not all the betting markets are yet live.

3. How many medals did the UK get last year? 

The UK won 64 medals in total at the Tokyo Games held in 2021. The breakdown was 22 golds, 20 silvers, and 22 bronze medals. Team GB came fourth in the medals table. 

4. Which sport is the UK best at during the Olympics?

The sport that the UK does best at during the Olympics is cycling. At the Tokyo Games in 2021, Team GB landed 12 medals in cycling, the breakdown was six gold, four silver, and two bronze. 

The second most successful sport in Tokyo was swimming, where Team GB claimed eight medals. 

5. Can you place live bets on the 2024 Olympic Games? 

Yes, you can place live bets on the 2024 Olympic Games. With sports like golf, tennis, football, and rugby included at the Paris Games, it is possible to place live bets on the best live betting sites just like you would in any match or competition involving that sport.

6. Where are the next Olympic Games going to take place? 

The next Olympic Games are going to take place in Los Angeles in 2028. This will be the third time the city has hosted the Summer Games after previously staging the event in 1932 and 1984.

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