Caesars sees at least $1m in curling Winter Olympics spots bets

• Caesars Sportsbook reports a surge in betting on the Winter Olympics, with curling alone generating over $1 million in handle, surpassing initial projections
• Senior Caesars trader Chris Pearce expressed surprise at the popularity of curling wagers, noting the unexpected level of interest from bettors
• BetMGM’s Christian Cipollini highlighted curling’s accessibility and relatability as key factors driving engagement, contributing to its rising sportsbook popularity

Caesars Entertainment has spotted a new trend on its sportsbook, with users increasingly betting on the Winter Olympics and one sport in particular.

Curling is bringing in at least $1m in sports betting handle, Caesars has reported, well ahead of original projections.

The news was confirmed in a Reuters report, which cited Caesars Sportsbook Senior Trader Chris Pearce, who spoke about the emerging trend and the higher-than-expected uptake on curling for sports betting.

"The curling alone is going to take seven figures overall; it’s going to take a million dollars overall," he told the media outlet.

Pearce also spoke about the event, sharing his initial disbelief at first, adding that had anyone told him the company would be seeing that much handle going down on curling, he would not have believed them.

"If you had 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."

With the proliferation of sports betting and the inclusion of a range of activities, niche sports and their fan bases can use sports betting platforms to generate excitement around events.

During the pandemic, sports events were shuttered, which led to people betting on overseas table tennis played in Belarus and Russia, one of the few available events during the lull of the times.

In the meantime, BetMGM Sportsbook Senior Trading Manager Christian Cipollini has also weighed in on the curling trend, arguing that the sport made sense, and suggesting that it was not necessarily down to specific fans who have bet on it.

Rather, curling is a relatable sport, Cipollini noted, and argued that people can quickly catch up to what is going on the screen. The sport is indeed getting more popular, though, he acknowledged, at least from the standpoint of sportsbook handle.

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