Skiing Betting: A sport for the niche?
We’re sure that you never thought that skiing was a sport that people consider for sports betting. Guess what? Skiing betting is a real thing. Even if you’ve never done alpine skiing yourself, you must have wondered at least once how it feels.
Although it might not be as popular as other sports betting events, there is still a market out there for skiing betting. There are different types of skiing events like country skiing, alpine skiing, and Olympic freestyle skiing.
Today, we’re going to cover all there is to know about skiing betting. We’ll go over the different skiing events that are popular for sports betting along with the betting markets. Let’s begin then.
An Introduction to Skiing Betting
Skiing betting is not something that you’d commonly see on most betting sites. In fact, we could only find a handful of betting sites that even had the option to bet on alpine skiing events. Even Olympic Men’s Hockey, a sport that’s not popular, had more betting options than country skiing.
But that’s not to say that there aren’t any options. Some of the popular skiing events are alpine skiing events, the alpine ski cup, the Winter Olympics like the Beijing Winter Olympic games, cross-country skiing, and Olympic freestyle.
In terms of betting markets, the options are very limited. Since skiing is a group racing event, there are no markets where you can have skiers go head to head. Most betting sites provide the outright betting market for the available skiing events.
If you want to know which one is the most popular skiing event to look out for, we recommend looking out for the next Winter Olympics. The Beijing Winter Olympic Games featured the Olympic freestyle event for men and women. Those events were really popular for skiing betting.
Different Types of Skiing
Now let’s talk about the different types of skiing events that you can enjoy. If you want to learn more about skiing events with the possibility of betting on them in the future, we suggest you give this a read. Without any further ado, let’s dive right in.
Alpine Skiing
Let’s start with what everyone is familiar with. The Alpine skiing event is also referred to as downhill skiing. This type of skiing takes place in skiing resorts with groomer trails. The main focus is traveling long distances along the trail and reaching the finish.
Alpine skiing can be done recreationally, but it can also be used for competitions. The Alpine Ski Cup is a popular skiing event during the Winter Olympics where punters can bet with real money or a saved-up free bet.
Country Skiing
Country skiing is also known by many as Alpine Touring. The main difference from traditional alpine skiing would be the trail. In Alpine skiing, everyone has to use the groomed trail set by the resort. But in Country skiing, skiers explore the less-traveled parts of the icy mountains.
In terms of risk, Country skiing is definitely the more dangerous version of Alpine skiing. That’s why it’s not as popular for sports betting or using a free bet.
Cross Country Skiing
If an icy adventure is what you’re looking for then cross-country skiing events are perfect. This skiing event takes place in flat areas or hills, where the use of poles is needed. Instead of using them to steer, the poles are used in cross-country alpine skiing events to propel one forward. It’s the same as climbing an icy mountain.
For punters looking to use a free bet on skiing, the cross-country skiing events are a solid option. You can find the odds listed for all the skiers and place your free bet on the skier of your preference.
Ski Touring
Ski Touring is similar to Alpine Touring with one key difference. In Alpine Touring, you start at the top of the mountain and ski your way down using unconventional routes. But in Ski Touring, skiers will have to go up the mountain themselves.
This means that skiers need to take food and all emergency supplies with them. It should be clear at this point that there is a considerable amount of risk involved in Ski Touring.
Adaptive Skiing
Skiing is a sport that is open to all kinds of people. It also includes people with disabilities. There are special skis developed for people like this. These skis come with a seat and a footrest where disabled people can rest their legs.
Adaptive skiing is done in pairs with one person sitting and an assistant standing behind. They will help control the ski should the person sitting lose control. As it is a skiing event for disabled people, gentle slopes are the standard route for Adaptive skiing.
Freestyle Skiing
If you want a more exciting skiing event, then freestyle skiing is the way to go. Olympic freestyle skiing is a popular topic discussed in sports gambling podcasts. Instead of traveling straight downward, the Olympic freestyle focuses on tricks done while in the air.
It’s really popular among punters as we’ve seen the use of a free bet on freestyle skiing.
Olympic freestyle skiing is not as dangerous as freestyle skiing in the X Games. Even Olympic Men’s Hockey, which takes place during the Winter Olympics, does not come with this much risk. Since skiers spend the majority of their time in the air, one wrong move can they can get seriously injured.
Ski Jumping
Looking for a form of skiing that’s even more dangerous than the Olympic freestyle skiing or Olympic Men’s Hockey tournament? We’re talking about Ski Jumping. There are competitions held surrounding this skiing event.
There are sports gambling podcasts that talk about ski jumping. The airtime in Ski jumping is much more compared to Olympic freestyle. There are no tricks involved in this, but the sheer height and distance traveled in Ski jumping are enough to be considered fatally dangerous.
Skiing Betting Odds Explained
Since we’re talking about Skiing betting, we have to talk about the odds that come with it. Fortunately for all you punters, skiing betting odds are not different from regular sports betting odds. In fact, they are pretty much the same as they would be for Olympic Men’s hockey.
The concept of favorites and underdogs exists in skiing betting as well. The odds are higher when you bet on the underdogs. But they will have a slimmer chance of winning. Here at Betfinal, you can enjoy some of the best odds on skiing betting events worldwide.
As for what you can use to bet on skiing events, we’ve already mentioned the use of a free bet multiple times. But you can also use real money wagers on the skiing betting markets as well.
Major Events in Skiing
We’ve talked about the different kinds of skiing events and how betting odds work similarly to a Men’s hockey tournament. But what about the major events that you should be looking out for? Just the Winter Olympics is not enough. You should stay informed about the other events as well.
Here we’re going to list some of the popular skiing events that take place worldwide. If you follow sports gambling podcasts on skiing, some of these events are going to match up with our list.
- Four Hills Tournament, Germany, and Austria held from Dec 28 to Jan 6
- Planica World Cup, Slovenia will be held from Feb 21 to March 5
- World Cup, Kitzbuehel will be held from Jan 16 to Jan 22
- Alpine World Ski Championships, France will be held from Feb 6 to Feb 19
- World Cup Alpine Skiing in Vald d’lsere will be held on Dec 10 and 11
Among these skiing events, the Planica World Cup and Alpine World Ski Championships are the ones to look out for. These events will be held over a long period of time and will feature some major betting events and markets for skiing events.