The Olympics come around every two years, with the hopes of bringing the nations of the world together for weeks at a time in a celebration of unison and honest competition among equals. Countries from all over the world send their best athletes to represent their host country, in hopes of bringing honor -and medals- back home. Athletes train for years before an Olympic event, going through daunting challenges and preparing themselves for the tough event that the Olympics hold.
Bidding and the Olympic games have been intertwined together for quite a while. So far the first bets regarding the 2020 Olympic game host country have already started, with Tokyo, Instanbul & Madrid being the options. Previous year’s Olympics in 2012 saw the biggest explosion in betting so far. Experts say this was mainly due to the UK’s unique and well developed gambling-infrastructure. Recent reports state that 4.3% of all iPhone users in the UK have at least one gambling related app installed. Sportsbetting covers the biggest share of the market with 45%, followed by casino games with 23%. These are games like roulette and blackjack, but do not include poker. Online sportsbetting is a favorite amongst gamblers due to its sports related nature and the fact that it gives the gambers only slightly worse odds compared to playing blackjack, depending on what strategies are used.
The way the host country for the games is decided is through a long process, handled by the International Olympic Commission (IOC). Every two years, countries around the world place bids to be considered to host the games. The IOC will then consider those cities as “Applicant City.” and will then investigate each city on some basic points. The city must prove that it is big enough to handle the Olympics, they must show that they can host the games in new stadiums and venues, adequate housing such as hotels, and a reliable mass transit system and the high level of security needed at the games and be able to afford the cost of hosting the games. The cities needs to maintain a highly positive media about the games, and then finally if the bid committees do not exercise proper judgment in developing the city to host the Olympics. If the IOC decides that a city has fulfilled the points above, the city goes into the second phase of the process. After submitting an application and an application fee, the IOC makes a final judging on which city is the best candidate for the Olympic Games.