When the Paris Olympics begin later this month, North Carolina residents will have the opportunity to see familiar faces in action and can bet on the events as well. In-state colleges and local pro teams will be represented in several sports as the U.S. and other countries compete on the world’s biggest athletic stage.
This year marks the first time NC sports betting will be legal during the Olympics. Residents 21 and over can legally bet on Olympic sports, as the event’s Summer and Winter Games and their trials are included on the North Carolina Lottery Commission’s official list of authorized sports wagering events. In addition, a new event debuts this summer: breaking.
Paris Olympics details and NC connections
The 2024 Olympics will feature 32 sports. The opening ceremony is set for July 26, and the closing ceremony is on August 11. NBC owns the U.S. broadcast rights and will show events across its family of networks. Live coverage of all events will be on the network’s Peacock streaming service.
A few events, including soccer, archery, handball, and rugby, will begin before the official start date.
The women’s pro soccer team, North Carolina Courage, has five players heading to the Olympics, including goalkeeper Casey Murphy. Former University of North Carolina players Crystal Dunn and Emily Fox are also on the squad.
The team begins play on July 25 against Zambia at 8:30 a.m., with the game airing on the USA Network.
Several former North Carolina State swimmers, including Katharine Berkhoff and Ryan Held, are on Team USA. Wolfpack swimming head coach Braden Holloway is an assistant coach for the Olympics squad. Team USA swimmers did their pre-Olympic training at Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary.
Several Tar Heel State natives, including basketball greats Steph Curry and Bam Adebayo, are on the highly touted U.S. Men’s National Team. Former Duke women’s basketball star and Las Vegas Aces guard Chelsea Gray will play on the U.S. Senior Women’s National Team as they vie for a record eighth straight gold medal. The women have not lost at the Olympics since 1992.
Betting on the Olympics
The following types of bets on the Olympics are legal in NC:
- Exchange wagering
- In-game wagering
- In-play wagers
- Moneyline
- Over-under
- Parlays
- Pool
- Proposition wagers
- Single-game wagers
- Straight wagers
- Teaser wagers
You can’t bet on:
- The occurrence of injuries
- The occurrence of penalties
- The outcome of disciplinary proceedings against a participant
- The outcome of replay reviews
North Carolina online sportsbooks are already accepting wagers for Olympic sports.
From the street to the Olympics, breaking enters the pantheon
Anyone who grew up in the 1980s and loved hip-hop music and break dancing is already familiar with the sport of breaking. The dance form began on the streets of New York City and became popular worldwide via music videos, breakdancing movies, and groups like the Rock Steady Crew.
Thirty-two athletes, aptly called B-boys and B-girls, will compete in the breaking competition at the iconic Place de la Concorde, the largest public square in Paris. Two women and two men from the U.S. qualified for the Olympics:
- Sunny Choi (B-Girl Sunny)
- Logan Edra (B-Girl Logistx)
- Victor Montalvo (B-Boy Victor)
- Jeffrey Louis (B-Boy Jeffro)
Judges will rate dancers on creativity, personality, technique, variety, performativity, and musicality. The women’s competition takes place on Aug. 9 and the men’s on Aug. 10. Dancers will compete in a round robin, quarterfinals, semifinals, and then medal battles.
Fans in the U.S. can watch the full competition on NBC outlets.
Image Credit: Frank Franklin II / AP Images
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