Women’s events at the Tokyo Olympics are experiencing a nice bump in gambling circles. Sportico reports that around 60% of the PointsBet wagers placed at this year’s event have been on women’s sports. That pales in comparison to betting handles in American sports, where men’s events bring in about 90% of the betting handle.
Diving deeper into the numbers, men’s basketball’s only made up 26% of PointBet’s entire betting handle so far. On the pitch, women’s soccer is blowing their male counterparts out of the water, bringing in 85% of the total soccer handle.
“It’s been great to see that flip from a men’s focus [to women’s],” head of trading for PointsBet Jay Crouche said in an interview with Sportico. “This is the first Olympics since there’s been legalized online sports betting in the U.S. It’s probably good, in a way, that it’s happening in 2021, because people have a level of familiarity now that leads to betting on things like skateboarding, canoeing, or rowing and absolutely enhances that viewing experience. People are used to betting on the NFL or NBA, but they’re now seeing so much Olympics coverage, and they’re able to bet on new sports, many of which [are] phenomenal betting sports.”
PointsBet sees the “instant fulfillment” factor of the events as a big reason why Olympic betting has still been popular despite a large time difference between Tokyo and the U.S.
Women’s sports stars like Katie Ledecky have helped drive interest in sports like swimming. Once Ledecky was upset by Ariarne Titmus in the 400-meter freestyle, bettors flocked her way.
“That might have even triggered more people to bet on Ledecky because she was at bigger odds,” Croucher said. “After she lost to Titmus early, you were getting a better price on Ledecky, which led to more activity, but it also just created more of a storyline.”
The Tokyo Olympics now head into their final weekend, with competition wrapping up on Sunday, Aug. 8.
Russ Heltman is a daily news writer for BSM. He is the morning host and producer for 89.3 WMKV in Cincinnati, OH. He also works in gameday communications for FC Cincinnati and additionally contributes to the AllBengals blog for Sports Illustrated. Russ can be found on Twitter @RussHeltman11 or you can reach him by email at Heltmandm@yahoo.com.
The two new and most visible faces of the new media influx have teamed up for a live show that will take place in New York City. Draymond Green and JJ Redick are bringing their respective podcasts to the stage for a live experience.
On Monday (June 27), Draymond Green’s The Draymond Green Show and JJ Redick’s The Old Man and the Three will seek to entertain an already sold out audience at The City Winery in New York City.
The show will collaborate for the first time and it will mark an interesting time in the thrusting of new media onto the public consciousness. JJ Redick has earned universal praise for how he has handled his career post-retirement from the NBA, including appear often opposite Stephen A. Smith on ESPN’s First Take as well as the network’s myriad of other programming.
Draymond Green has been very public with his podcast that has very publicly recorded episodes minutes after Warriors games. He has recently invoked his mantra that he isn’t a part of the media (despite signing a contract with Turner Sports and Colin Cowherd’s The Volume). Instead he insists he is a part of the aforementioned new media.
Scott Van Pelt Not Hurt By Draymond Green’s “New Media” Comment
“He’s the one that said it. Isn’t he the one who said he’s new media? I was just trying to give him credit in saying, ‘Look, you now have control of your narrative and you can go do your podcast now.’”
We have heard an awful lot in the fast month about “new media” with a large section of that discussion coming in regards to athletes in or formerly in the NBA. One such interaction was between a member of that new media and Scott Van Pelt.
After Game 5 of the NBA Finals, a victorious Draymond Green was interviewed on SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt. In the interview, Van Pelt asked Green about dealing with the outside “noise” around the Finals. After Green gave a to-be-expected type answer, Van Pelt followed-up with the initial comment that start a wave.
Van Pelt: You’re part of the media now and you get to control the conversation from your perspective and I know you’ll-
Green: New media.
He then corrected Van Pelt’s assertion that Green had stated Stephen A. Smith was new media by saying:
Green: And by the way go watch The Draymond Green Show. I said Stephen A. sometimes acts like the new media. Sometimes he doesn’t. That’s on you, but nonetheless, don’t just lump me in with media, baby. It’s the new media.
Scott Van Pelt appeared on the SI Media Podcast and was asked about this exchange.
“I didn’t get that,” Van Pelt said of Green’s resistance in being associated with the word “media.”
“He’s the one that said it. Isn’t he the one who said he’s new media? I was just trying to give him credit in saying, ‘Look, you now have control of your narrative and you can go do your podcast now.’”
Van Pelt went on about Green’s categorizing of Smith and other media as a separate column of media.
“I guess what Draymond actually said was sometimes he’s new media. I don’t give a shit who’s what…I think now as it relates to media, there’s no new and old because people that are in the old media are doing the new media and people that are in new media are cutting through in ways that people in old media didn’t think they ever would many years ago. I guess all I’m saying is whatever Stephen A. is, he exists in both lanes and Draymond, clearly his content cuts through on his podcast or with me.
I wasn’t hurt by it. I didn’t take it like he was mad at me. I was just correcting the semantics. It didn’t trouble me. Whatever. However Draymond frames what Stephen A. Smith is or what any of us are, it doesn’t feel important. I think it’s important he has that place where he wants to do his thing. And I think people are interested in hearing from the guy that was just out there not long after saying what he has to say.”
Barstool’s Big Cat has been trying to book NBA star Kevin Durant on Pardon My Take for five years, but the former MVP just won’t say yes.
On a recent edition of the podcast, Big Cat talked about how the Brooklyn Nets star has continued to snub requests to come on the show.
“We want Kevin Durant on this show, and he has just alpha-ed me so hard at this point,” Big Cat said. “I need people to start replying to his tweets saying just go on Pardon My Take.”
It’s not like KD has given Big Cat the cold shoulder. Big Cat said Durant has responded to his DMs on Twitter before, even wishing him Happy Thanksgiving one year. But so far all attempts to get Durant on PMT have been futile.
“Maybe if we start getting some rings, then he’ll be like, ‘Yeah they’re an elite team, and I want to join up with them. And maybe I can help them win something,'” PFT Commenter said, referencing the fact that PMT is yet to be recognized with any podcasting awards.
Durant did more or less tell the podcast on Twitter he wasn’t interested on Wednesday.
Jordan Bondurant is a features reporter for Barrett News Media. He also works for ABC8 News and Newsradio WRVA and 910 The Fan in Richmond, Virginia. His prior experiences include working for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Danville Register & Bee, Virginia Lawyers Weekly and iHeartradio Richmond. He can be reached by email at Jordan.E.Bondurant@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @J__Bondurant.
