Gaming Attorney Offers Florida Sports Betting Tips for 2024 Olympics in Paris

For the first time, Florida sports betting will be live during the Olympics. And naturally, there's a ton of interest in betting on the 2024 Olympics in Paris among Floridians. 

All the usual factors apply here. The Olympic games are a global event. They are also rare. The Summer Olympics take place just once every four years. That scarcity and scale of product guarantees mountains of action.

Still, there’s another pair of forces driving attention toward the 2024 Paris Olympics. Most obviously, we’ve reached a lull in the United States sports betting calendar. Only one of the major four North American leagues are in the middle of their season: Major League Baseball. And as of now, MLB is on their All-Star break, creating even more of a sports-wagering desert.

Most notably, though, sports betting in Florida remains extremely novel. The Seminole tribe only relaunched their services toward the end of December 2023. And that rollout came after what was basically a two-year layoff. The combination of relative newness and huge market size ensures that residents from the Sunshine State will be flocking toward the Seminole Florida sports betting app to get in on the Olympics action.

The question is: Should they? And if they do, how should they go about it? These might seem like odd questions. But Daniel Wallach, an attorney from Florida who specializes in gambling, believes interested bettors in the Sunshine State should keep a few important factors in mind.

Florida Sports Betting Markets for the Olympic Games Aren’t Yet Fully Set

One thing that stood from Wallach’s comments: The Olympic sports betting markets aren’t set in stone. 

“The Hard Rock app is already populated with a few Olympic sports like handball,” Chloe Sparks of NBC 8 wrote after speaking with Wallach. “But once all draws are finalized, Hard Rock officials told us most major sports will be available for wagering…Florida online Olympic sports betting includes pregame wagering, live bets on who will medal, and medal totals.”

This is a fair concern. Jumping on early Olympic betting odds with various online sportsbooks in the United States could prove premature at the moment. Matchups and participants in certain events aren’t even fully set. For team sports, countries aren’t required to send a finalized roster list until sometime before the end of the games–to the best of our knowledge.

All of which creates a layer of uncertainty. The same goes for potential injuries or withdrawals following exhibition contests. It happens all the time. Olympic competitors get hurt ramping up or wind up withdrawing for other reasons. 

Participants that play in other professional leagues are especially liable for last-minute exits. They typically tend to have higher salaries on the line with their “full-time” gigs. Competing on behalf of your country means a whole lot. But if you or your team, club, organization, etc. is worried about a nagging injury, however minor, that you suffered during practice or an exhibition tilt, you might decide to sit out the games. 

Instances like these can have a huge impact on the betting field. So, from what Sparks wrote, it sounds like Wallach recommends that Florida sports betting enthusiasts wait until exhibition contests and qualifiers are over before looking into various wagers.

Is There a Heightened Danger in Betting on the Olympics Relative to Other Sporting Events?

Wallach also provided another Florida sports betting tip during his conversation with Sparks. And it’s a fairly controversial one. He believes that Olympics betting is rife with risk because of the perceived potential for fixed competitions:

“‘When you bet on the Olympics, because these athletes are not compensated in any way, shape, or form similar to how pro-athletes are compensated, there is a risk factor that doesn’t exist to the same degree when you’re talking about NFL…I think the Olympics does present probably the greatest threat of all of the sports to any kind of match corruption or match manipulation. Whether it be point-shaving, altering of performance, inside information. These matches are taking place in France and there’s very little that the state regulatory body or the Seminole tribe can do about it if there’s any kind of match corruption.’”

On some level, this is perfectly fair advice. It would be hard for Florida sports betting regulators to inoculate their customers against any additional risk or to make them whole if something untoward goes down and is eventually discovered. 

At the same time, that risk essentially applies to all international events. If you’re betting on the 2026 World Cup, you might live in the United States while games are taking place in Mexico or Canada. You’re not necessarily afforded any extra protection.

And by the way, it works in reverse. It would be hard for sportsbooks in France to protect consumers from wagers placed on an NFL game if the contest featured some type of manipulation.

Should Bet on the 2024 Olympics in Paris?

This is a question only each individual can answer. It doesn’t matter whether we’re talking about Florida sports betting app users or sports betting app users in Kansas. The Olympics are, in fact, a different brand of sports relative to pro leagues. That, in theory, drives up the risk.

With that said, sports betting must always be approached with some level of caution. It starts with choosing the right odds provider. That’s why we recommend using one of the top online sports betting sites in the United States that we’ve reviewed ourselves. 

Beyond that, you shouldn’t be wagering money you can’t afford to lose. Nor should you be treating gambling as some type of money-making lifeline. It is best approached as an entertainment activity. 

There are, of course, other factors for Florida sports bettors to consider. But these are the ones that essentially guarantee you won’t have a bad experience betting on the Paris Summer Olympics.

Take a look at this list of the top online sportsbooks so you can find one that works for all of your sports betting needs: