How to Bet on the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow

The Commonwealth Games feature thousands of athletes, dozens of events and several ways to bet on them. We’ll fill you in on all the necessary information.

The Commonwealth Games are the world’s second largest sporting event after the summer Olympics; this year almost 7,000 athletes from 71 countries will meet in Glasgow, Scotland to compete in events as diverse as badminton, lawn bowls, hockey and rugby.

The Commonwealth Games are perfect for sportsbetting because they are so large and diverse, giving us the opportunity to bet on athletes and sports we normally wouldn’t think about. Given that the sport attracts bettors from (almost) every corner of the globe, it’s important to have some knowledge on how to bet on the games.

How to make an account and deposit money

While betting on the Commonwealth Games is popular on most continents, that doesn’t mean it’s legal everywhere. Some governments like India and Malaysia ban online betting altogether.
If you’re from a jurisdiction which banns or restricts online gambling some bookmakers may not allow you to access their sites.

If you live in a country like the US (in which case you probably aren’t wagering on the commonwealth games in the first place!) your bank or credit card company may not allow you to deposit money with an online sportsbook. In this case, opening an e-wallet account like Skrill, Paypal or Neteller should do the trick.

But if you’re from a betting mecca like the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia or New Zealand, feel to free to bet on the games to your heart’s content, as long as you’re above the age of 18 and have the bankroll to finance each of your wagers safely.

How to bet on team sports

For team sports like rugby and netball there are two ways to bet on the games. The first is to bet on the “outright winner.” This is for that tough bettor that doesn’t have the time or the inclination to bet on each individual game; rather wanting to select the final winner “outright.”

• Most betting on the Commonwealth Games is done by choosing odds or the money line on a single event or outright winner
• Live betting is also great as events are happening non-stop
• Depending on where you live, some online sportsbooks may restrict your access to their site

This is done by selecting a winner by odds. For example, let’s say that I want to pick the heavily favored New Zealand black shirts to win in rugby sevens. Paddy Power gave the Kiwis 8/11 odds of winning, followed by South Africa at 9/4. That means that I need to wager $11 on the Kiwis to get $19 back (an $8 payout plus my $11 wager). If I wagered on South Africa, I could get $13 back by putting down $4.

On the other hand, let’s say that for me betting on the games means choosing winners in head-to-head matchups. Instead of choosing an outright winner, I want to pick the “money line” on a match between England and Australia. The line is as follows:

Australia +120 

England -130

This means that England is slightly favored over Australia. If I want to bet on England, I need to wager $130 to receive $230 back (your initial wager plus the $100 payout). If I want to put money on Australia, I need to wager $100 to get $220 back. So the payout/wager ratio is higher for Australia because they are seen as having a lower chance of winning.

How to bet on individual events

Some of the popular individual events include the 100 meter sprint, lawn bowls, shooting, badminton, triathlon and 4X200 meter freestyle swimming. Some of these events are head-to-head, some of them involve an entire slew of athletes competing for the top prize.

You can always bet on the outright winner in any individual event in the Commonwealth Games, and it works the same as in any team sport. Log on to your favorite sportsbook like Bet365, BetVictor or Paddy Power and the outright odds will be listed.

If you want to choose the winner for a single match or event, not the outright winner, the manner in which you do this depends on the event itself. Let’s say we’re talking about triathlon. In that sport several athletes compete for the top prize in a single contest, so there is no head-to-head action. You choose the winner by odds, just as you would when placing outright bets.

On the other hand, you may want to place a bet on the outcome of a squash match between two contestants. That’s where the money line comes in.

Other ways of betting

These days prop betting and live betting are also popular. Prop betting allows one to place wagers on in-game occurrences not directly related to the outcome of the game or match. This is most popular in events like football and basketball but has its place in swimming, rugby and netball as well.

Live, or in-game betting, is much better, however. It allows you to choose a winner after an event has begun. It’s best for those who enjoy mobile betting as you can check information and place bets on the go. Even if you can’t stay glued to the TV to watch the New Zealand vs South Africa rugby match, you can still bet on it!