Milano Cortina 2026 is scheduled to run between 6 and 22 February 2026, which gives you a tidy, two-week window to follow the Winter Olympics without feeling like you need a PhD in every sport. If you’ve ever wanted to place a small, sensible bet purely to stay more engaged with what you’re watching, this is one of the easiest moments in the sporting calendar to do it.
Here’s what we’ll do: stick to a handful of beginner-friendly markets, use the official schedule as your guardrail, and understand why you might hear about prediction markets alongside traditional sportsbooks in 2026.
Medal math you can enjoy
The Olympics feel complicated because there are so many events, not because betting has to be complicated. At Milano Cortina 2026, athletes will compete for 116 gold medals, so there’s enough daily movement for simple scoreboard-style bets to stay interesting without you chasing niche angles.
If you’re new to Olympic betting, start with markets that behave like a table you can check once a day. Country medal totals and most-golds markets are intuitive because you’re tracking a running count, not trying to handicap every heat, run, or routine. You can also keep it simple with head-to-head matchups, where you’re only choosing between two competitors, even if you don’t know the whole field.
A small but helpful reality check: the Games are huge, with over 2,900 athletes expected to compete, so you’ll always be tempted by more markets than you need. The skill, especially for a casual bettor, is deciding what you’re ignoring. My favourite simple rule is to pick one lane for the whole Games (medals or matchups), then keep your stake size consistent so the story stays fun and the swings stay manageable. If you’re getting started with a Betway Voucher, that same idea still applies: treat it as a sensible entry point, not a reason to widen your betting menu.
One more timing tip, because it trips people up every Olympics: competition can begin before the Opening Ceremony, depending on the sport and schedule. That’s not a trick; it’s just how a packed multi-sport event works.
Live betting without the chaos
Once you’ve got your simple markets sorted, live betting can be the nice add-on. The key is treating it as a short, planned activity, not something that competes with actually watching the sport.
It’s worth knowing how mainstream this all is in the US now, because it explains why live odds are everywhere on big events: ESPN reported that legal US sportsbooks handled nearly $150 billion in bets in 2024, citing American Gaming Association figures. ESPN also reported $13.71 billion in sports betting revenue in 2024, again citing AGA figures, which is why operators keep building richer in-play menus and faster betting experiences.
That doesn’t mean you have to participate constantly. You just need a simple way to stay in control, especially when the odds start moving quickly mid-event.
- Decide your event block first (for example, one evening session), then pre-set a max of two live bets for that block.
- Only check prices at moments you choose in advance (start, midpoint, late), so you’re not reacting to every shift.
- Keep the same stake size as your pre-game bets, and if you miss your moment, skip it and enjoy the next event.
This is where a little transparency builds trust with yourself. The American Gaming Association’s Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker explains that its topline figures are based on state revenue reports and are reported on a monthly or quarterly basis, and it also notes that certain items like annual fees and federal sports betting excise tax payments are not included in the gaming tax figures it cites. The big industry numbers are useful for understanding scale, but they’re not a reason to bet more aggressively on a Tuesday afternoon curling match.
Olympic events are often entertaining even when you don’t know every athlete. If betting stops you from noticing that, it’s doing the opposite of what you want.
The new side door to Olympic bets
If you’ve been hearing more chatter about prediction markets, you’re not imagining it. On the traditional sportsbook side, you’re placing a bet at given odds with a defined payout if you win. On the prediction-market side, you’re typically buying a contract at a price that can move, and it may feel more like trading than betting.
What makes this especially relevant right now is the regulatory signal coming from the top. In remarks posted by the CFTC, Chairman Michael S. Selig said he directed staff to withdraw the 2024 event contracts rule proposal that would prohibit political and sports-related event contracts, and to withdraw a 2025 staff advisory that cautioned registrants about offering access to sports-related event contracts. He also framed the goal as getting to clearer rules rather than leaving markets and the public stuck with uncertainty.
For a regular reader, the practical takeaway is simple: you may have more than one way to express a view on an outcome during the Olympics, and the experience won’t feel identical. That’s not a reason to get anxious; it’s a reason to slow down and check what you’re actually using.
Two trust-building habits matter here. First, use primary sources for the big claims, like the IOC for schedule details and the CFTC for policy direction, because that reduces the chance you’re acting on somebody’s interpretation. Second, remember Olympic schedules can change; the Olympics’ own day-by-day schedule page flags that the schedule information should be considered preliminary and is subject to change until the end of the Games.
Here’s the question to sit with as you decide where to participate: if two platforms let you take a view on the same outcome, do you want a straightforward bet, or do you prefer something that behaves like a moving price?
Two weeks and one simple system
Milano Cortina 2026 gives you a rare kind of structure: a defined period, an official schedule you can follow, and a menu of markets that can be as simple as tracking a scoreboard. If you keep your approach consistent, live betting becomes a small enhancement rather than a distraction, and the prediction-market conversation becomes something you understand instead of something you tune out.
Your best edge as a casual bettor isn’t secret knowledge; it’s having a plan you’ll actually stick to when there are ten events on at once. So keep it small, keep it steady, and let the Games do what they’re meant to do: entertain you.
And if the goal is a better viewing experience, not a bigger bet slip, what’s the one market type you’ll commit to for the whole two weeks?
