Curling Fever: Bettors Drive $1M in Olympic Wagers

Dr. Annelies De Vos · 2026-02-19

You know how the Winter Olympics always have those wild stories? Athletes wandering off, personal drama spilling into the public eye, medal ceremonies with a twist. This year, the biggest surprise wasn't a scandal—it was curling. That's right. The sport with the stones, the sweeping, and those, well, let's call them distinctive pants. It's captured America's betting imagination in a huge way. ### Why Curling is a Bettor's Surprise Hit Look, ice hockey still rules the gambling markets. That's a given. But curling has quietly become a fan favorite for people placing wagers. It's got everything: strategy, tension, and even a little controversy with some cheating allegations between Canada and Sweden at the 2026 Games. It's relatable. You can turn it on and understand what's happening almost immediately. Chris Pearce, a Senior Trader at Caesars Sportsbook, told Reuters the betting share for curling was way more than anyone predicted. "The curling alone is going to take seven figures overall; it's going to take a million dollars overall," Pearce said. He even admitted, "If you would have told me at the start that we'd turn over a million on curling, I wouldn't have believed you, but there's a lot of interest there." ### The Relatability Factor It's not just Caesars seeing this trend. Christian Cipollini, Senior Trading Manager at BetMGM Sportsbook, put it perfectly. He said curling is a bettor favorite alongside hockey because the sport is "kind of relatable, it's an easy watch, you can understand it very quickly." Think about it. It's like a strategic game on ice. There's no complex rulebook to memorize. You see the stones, you see the target, you see the sweeping that changes the stone's path. The simplicity is its strength. Cipollini pointed out another key factor: constant live coverage. "It ends up getting it more popularity from a handle standpoint," he noted. When a sport is always on, people watch. And when they watch, they get invested. That investment often turns into a wager. ### A Bigger Betting Picture This isn't just about one quirky sport outperforming expectations. It signals a larger shift. Early estimates suggested betting on the Milano Cortina Games would far surpass the action seen at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Pearce from Caesars confirmed they're already ahead of the game. His sportsbook beat its total Beijing handle just "five or six days in" to the current Games. That's a staggering pace. So, what does this mean for the future of sports betting? It shows that bettors are looking beyond the traditional major sports. They're engaging with events that offer: - **Accessibility:** Sports that are easy to follow and understand. - **Narrative:** Stories, rivalries, and a little drama. - **Availability:** Consistent broadcast coverage that builds familiarity. Curling checked all those boxes this time around. It proves that in the fast-paced world of sports betting, the next big thing might just be a 44-pound granite stone sliding down a sheet of ice. Who would've thought? The lesson here is clear: never underestimate the appeal of a simple, strategic game, especially when millions of dollars are on the line.