CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The North Carolina Lottery Commission has approved the Paris Olympics for betting opportunities in the state.
Steve Bittenbender, an analyst with BetCarolina.com told WCNC Charlotte's anchor and reporter Jane Monreal that does not mean each sportsbook will carry it, though.
"You'll want to take a look if there's a specific sport or activity that you're interested in, Bittenbender said "You may want to check out a couple of different sportsbooks, not only to see if there's a difference in knowledge, but just to see if they are offering the market in the event you want to wager on."
He advised to look at the wording across the eight sportsbooks available in North Carolina.
"Some of them are going to be listed under Track and Field in some sports books. Some of them may be listed under Olympics," Bittenbender said. "BET MGM, for example, I was looking it up earlier today, they have Track and Field listed as Athletics."
Bittenbender said North Carolinians may be interested in several athletes representing Team USA who have a high chance of taking home medals.
"Sha'Carri Richardson is the heavy favorite in the 400-meter women's hurdles, but Anna Cockrell is available," Bittenbender said. "She's going to be a long shot. She is available for a good price."
Note: While Bittenbender stated Richardson is a favorite in the Women's 400-meter hurdles, she is actually competing in the Women's 100m and Women's 4x100m Relay events.
Bittenbender said that while there is money to be made in sports betting, there is a lot of risk too.
"The best sports bettors in the world are barely above 50% when it comes to winning," Bittenbender said. "So it's a very, very small margin that we're talking about here. Keep it small, early on. That way, you'll be able to maintain that bankroll for as long as possible and extend your engagement with the Olympic sports as they go on."