Google Olympic Fan Poll Results
Google has an interesting new feature as part of its PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics search results: a fan poll. And since Google is far and away the most popular search engine on the Internet, the poll is a good source for (reasonably) accurate results. Currently, the tech giant is asking its users which Winter Games sports they’re most interested in. The results are eye-opening, and they prompt the question: Does Olympic fan interest align with Olympic betting interest? In other words, are the most popular Olympic events for viewers also the most popular events for bettors?
That answer might be elusive, as most online sportsbooks like Bovada and Bet365 are fairly tight-lipped about the breakdown of their handles. However, if there’s any correlation between the two, an event’s popularity may provide some insight – and some movement – on the moneylines for that sport. Right now, according to almost 350,000 total votes, this is the popularity breakdown for the individual events in the PyeongChang Olympics (by percentage):
- Figure Skating - 25
- Snowboarding - 11
- Ice Hockey - 11
- Alpine Skiing - 10
- Biathlon – 9
- Bobsleigh – 8
- Curling – 6
- Ski Jumping – 5
- Speed Skating – 4
- Freestyle Skiing – 3
- Cross Country Skiing – 2
- Short Track Speed Skating – 2
- Skeleton – 2
- Luge – 1
- Nordic Combined – 1
Unsurprisingly, Figure Skating is the dominant force in the Winter Olympics, as it’s always been the marquee primetime attraction. Somewhat surprisingly, however, is just how popular Snowboarding has become, sitting right alongside Ice Hockey and right above Alpine Skiing. On the opposite end of the list, I’m personally baffled by the Luge getting only 1% of the crowd behind it, as that’s long been my favorite event of the Games.
Still, the biggest takeaway here is not betting related, so consider this an aside: The Biathlon gets 9% of the vote, making it the fifth most popular Winter Olympics sport. Meanwhile, Cross Country Skiing gets 2% of the vote. Well, the Biathlon is technically just Cross Country Skiing mixed with a little bit of shooting. Thus, adding guns to an otherwise boring sport nobody wants to watch makes it one of the most interesting and sought-after events of the Olympics. OlympicBettingOdds.com thinks people really like guns.
Imagine if they’d add a rifle to the ski jump...