COVID-19 Affecting The Olympics Before Events Even Begin

• COVID-19 in Japan could severely affect the outcome of the Summer Olympic Games.
• There are now 61 positive cases of the Coronavirus, only four days from the start of the competitions.
• The pandemic, not only changing the way the games are held, will change the outcome of the way medals are dispersed altogether as each country has been affected differently by COVID-19.

TOKYO – The 2020 Summer Olympics has brought with it 61 COVID-19 positive tests from athletes and others associated with the events happening in Tokyo.

The games are only four days away, but many countries are having to use alternates instead of their first-stringers to represent them as cases of the virus are on the rise. This has been the whole reason all along as to why Japan was hesitant to hold the Olympics this year, fearing a fourth wave of the virus.

However, what do these tests mean for the competitions and those betting on them?

COVID-19 & Betting On The 2020 Olympics

Of the 61 confirmed cases, 28 have traveled to the country for the Olympics while the others are from Japan.

“Regarding this 28, we need to look at the 22,000 people arriving in Japan. Looking into the positive case rate, the number is nearly 0.1%,” said a spokesperson for the Olympics.

No names or the countries for which these athletes represent have been revealed but Team USA will be using two of their alternates for their Women’s Gymnastics Team as one has tested positive. The virus, combined with not knowing the countries or competitors affected will greatly affect the betting lines posted by sportsbooks.

Those that placed futures wagers may not see them pan out as COVID-19 continues to switch things up for betting on the Olympics. Teams changing and rosters changing all ensure that the outcomes for each event are anyone’s guess.

Some players that have been said to be the best in the world will not be competing, leaving the gold medals up for grabs by the underdogs. These Olympic wagers are putting a gamble on a gamble, which is another reason why it’s taking sportsbooks so long to come out with betting lines four days out.

What To Expect From The Olympic Games

Regulated sports betting is done in more than half of the United States and gambling on the Olympic games will occur on a global scale. However, with betting lines rolling in slowly for countries, athletes, and events, Tokyo 2020 is already looking much different than any other Summer Olympics ever has.

The closed games themselves are something new and the faces seen will not be as expected due to so many competitors either bowing out to not risk COVID-19 or those having tested positive after arriving in Japan being quarantined and unable to compete.

If there is one thing sports bettors can wager on with certainty this year, it will be that those that medal will be a smorgasbord of unexpected winners. With that said, when betting on Tokyo 2020, wait until almost the last minute so that every piece of information and positive COVID-19 test is accounted for.

The 2020 Summer Olympics begin on Friday.

News tags: COVID-19 | Olympics | Olympics 2020 | Team USA Womens Gymnastics | Tokyo