Las Vegas bookmakers offering Olympic bets for first time since '98

Bettors have not been able to wager legally on Olympic competition in Las Vegas since the 1998 winter games in Nagano, Japan, but that will change with the official beginning of the Rio Games.

Las Vegas bookmakers are taking bets on the Olympics and, not surprisingly, most of the action is expected to come on men’s basketball.

Sports bettor R.J. Bell, the founder and CEO of Pregame.com, put together a market consensus of odds on various wagering options on the Olympics.

The U.S. men’s basketball team is a minus-1200 favorite to win the gold medal. That means that in order to make a $100 profit, a bettor would have to lay down $1,200. Those numbers mean the U.S. has an 89 percent chance to win, Bell said.

The field – all of the other teams – is plus-800. That means a wager of $100 would make the bettor an $800 profit.

Spain is 12-to-1 and France is 15-to-1. All other teams are 30-1 or higher.

Not shockingly, Team USA is a 50-point favorite to defeat China in its opener on Saturday.

Despite the massive odds, Bell said the majority of Olympic wagers would be on the men’s basketball tournament.

He said it would wind up providing a strong handle all told for Las Vegas bookmakers.

“Men’s basketball is expected to generate the most action,” Bell said. “The second-most action is expected to be on women’s soccer. Many events will have little action individually, but if you add up the action on all those less popular events, the sum is most certainly significant.”

The U.S. women’s soccer team is plus-140 to win the gold, while the field is 8-to-5, or minus-160.

The U.S., which has 556 athletes competing, the most in the field, is minus-700 to win the most gold medals, Bell said. China is plus-400. The only other countries under 100-to-1 are Great Britain, which is 70-1, and Russia, which is 80-to-1.

Bookmakers have set an over-under on the United States’ gold medal haul at 43.5. China is at 35.5 and Great Britain is 18.5.

Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, who has won the 100 and 200 meters in both 2008 and 2012, is favored to make it a threepeat in 2016. Bolt is minus-150, while Justin Gatlin is plus-170. If you want to bet on any other sprinter winning the gold, a $100 wager will make you $1,100.

Michael Phelps, the U.S. flag bearer in Friday’s Opening Ceremony, is favored to win the 100-meter butterfly and the 200-meter IM. He’s even money, at minus-110, in the 100 butterfly and minus-150 in the 200 IM. Phelps is plus-170 to win the 200-meter butterfly.