Sports

Potential Cancelation Of Tokyo Summer Olympics Threatens To Push Year-Old Old Bets

by
Samantha Gordon
July 21, 2021

Betting on the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics with BTC

We are a mere two days away from the opening ceremony of the 2020(1) Tokyo Summer Olympic Games, yet officials are continuing to weigh the possibility of canceling them outright.

COVID-19 is still raging across the globe, and a new Delta variant appears to be more aggressive than prior incarnations of the virus. Japan has already limited access for fans to spectate the Olympics in-person, and the potential for the games to be called off is still on the table at this late hour.

The 2020 Summer Olympics have already been pushed back a full calendar year, and any further delays could result in the outright stoppage of the entire event.

In the realm of betting on the Summer Olympics, any contest that does not complete with a declared winner will result in a push where all wagers are refunded.

While the prospect of not losing any gambling funds based on the premature termination of the Olympics this summer may ensure bettors that their bankroll is safe, many of these wagers were made over a calendar year ago.

Consider this. Betting with Bitcoin this time last year on the Summer Olympic Games is already likely a losing wager, win or lose, if you converted your currency to USD upon deposit.

The market price of BTC is always in flux, and at the moment the value is lagging but is much higher than it was in July of 2020.

Online sportsbooks have held users Bitcoin wagers for over a year, and the value of BTC has risen considerably. While this is of great benefit to the online sportsbook site offering odds on the Olympics, it doesn’t do the BTC bettor any favors.

If online gamblers wagered $1 in USD based on a Bitcoin deposit in 2020 and the bet wins in 2021, that winning wager will pay based on the value that was in place when it was made.

In July of 2020, the value of BTC was hovering around $10,000. Today, Bitcoin is worth roughly 3 times that amount, but wagers placed last year will still reward gamblers based on the old standard if the user chose to convert to USD when depositing.

However, if the online sports bettor opts to retain the currency in milliBitcoin, the value will fluctuate with the market, essentially creating a scenario where online sportsbooks are serving as an exchange where crypto investments can continue to mature.

For example, a 1 mBTC wager placed on the Olympics last year with a +300 moneyline will still reward at 3 mBTC, regardless of when the line receives action.

This can grant online sports bettors a significant advantage because the 3 mBTC that is awarded in the above scenario will be valued at the current market price of Bitcoin.

Despite the current stance of Olympic officials, there are still plenty of betting odds on the boards, and the following prop bet predicts that the USA will lead the pack in gold medals. Be sure to get in on these odds before the games begin because the moneylines will shift as the competition heats up.