Publication date: 4 February 2026
The Winter Olympics of 2026 will take place in Milan and Cortina, Italy. The Games are scheduled from February 6 to 22, with the competition kicking off as early as February 4 with curling qualifications and preliminary events in snowboarding and ice hockey. For media buyers and betting teams, this means three weeks of intense traffic, fluctuating odds, and increased interest in winter sports even in non-winter regions.
Officially named Milano Cortina 2026, the Games will be held simultaneously at two venues in northern Italy: Milan (city and arenas) and Cortina d’Ampezzo (alpine skiing and ice facilities in the Dolomites). This marks the third time that Italy hosts a Winter Olympics, following Cortina’s turn in 1956 and Turin’s hosting in 2006.
At these Games, there will be 17 sports: 16 classic winter disciplines plus one new event — ski mountaineering — which will make its Olympic debut and take place in Stelvio. All infrastructure is divided into several clusters: Milan (figure skating, ice hockey, speed skating); Cortina (Alpine skiing, bobsleigh, luge, skeleton); Val di Fiemme (cross-country skiing, ski jumping, Nordic combined); Livigno and Bormio (snowboarding, freestyle skiing, ski mountaineering).
There aren’t many official global figures specifically on the volume of bets placed during the Olympics: the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and regulators tend to focus more on combating match-fixing than boasting about their total betting turnover (“handle”). However, according to data from American and European bookmakers, Tokyo 2020 (held in 2021) became the first Games where legal betting was available across multiple US states, generating “significant and steady” interest, filling the traditionally quiet summer period for sports. By the Paris 2024 Olympics, individual operators like Caesars anticipated an increase in handle by 8–10 times compared to Tokyo 2020 due to broader coverage and deeper betting lines.
For betting, it’s not just about player actions but also how bookmakers expand markets. For example, heading into Paris 2024, ESPN BET offered over 300 markets, including unusual sports for most bettors such as field hockey, handball, badminton, water polo, along with medal count and overall team performance wagers. A similar approach will apply in 2026, extending beyond traditional hockey and biathlon betting to include fancier markets like freestyle skiing, snowboarding, short track, ski mountaineering, and complex propositions (medals per country, comparisons between skiers, etc.).
From an audience perspective, TV channels and the IOC typically report hundreds of millions of viewers cumulatively across broadcasts, making the Olympics one of the top-viewed events in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Some portion of this audience inevitably migrates to betting apps, particularly during prime-time finals featuring local stars or top national teams.
Traffic peaks will align with ceremonies and key sport finals. Despite potential restrictions for certain countries, hockey, figure skating, and extreme sports (freestyle/snowboarding) will remain the primary drivers of audience attention worldwide.
Official dates: February 6–22, 2026, although the first events start on February 4. It’s convenient to think of traffic and campaigns in three phases:
Betting peaks usually coincide with finals and matches involving top national teams (Canada, USA, Russia/”neutral team,” Sweden, Finland in hockey; Norway, Germany, France in biathlon; Japan, Russia, USA in figure skating; Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Norway in alpine skiing).
Based on international statistics and media coverage, we can generally distinguish the following patterns:
For affiliates, this means that setting up campaigns should be tailored narrowly to specific regions: avoid promoting biathlon in the U.S. without linking it to hockey, while in Norway, creatives focused on skiing and biathlon would yield better CTR and CR.
Several important trends already visible based on the Summer Olympics 2024 and the general development of betting:
This impacts campaigns in the following way: it’s beneficial to emphasize live formats, quick deposits, and immediate-action promos like “watch and bet now,” rather than focusing solely on lengthy pre-game predictions.
We can identify three distinct behavioral phases among players:
| Pre-Olympics Phase | Users explore betting lines for overall outcomes (total medal count, hockey champions, figure skating gold medalists).
Future-oriented bets dominate, attracting large banks looking for long-term investments. New registrations spike amidst hype, though initial deposits may not always follow immediately; users often wait until the first matches begin. |
| During the Olympics
2026 |
A sharp rise in live-betting activity occurs, with stakes placed on individual races, attempts, periods, and programs.
Emotion-driven micro-bets proliferate, boosting turnover but requiring careful risk management policies from operators. Inter-sports migration takes place: a user initially drawn to hockey might try biathlon or figure skating if presented with clear market explanations. |
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Post-Olympics Period
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Some users drop out after the Games conclude, but a core group remains engaged, transitioning towards regular competitions such as league games, world championships, and other tournaments.
To retain players effectively, it’s crucial to smoothly guide them toward ongoing events via CRM tools and promotional offers: email campaigns, push notifications, and personalized deals centered around familiar sports. |
For affiliates, this translates to: the primary goal isn’t merely securing FTD during peak periods, but ensuring retention through smart brand selection (CRM, UX, live betting options), enabling consistent RevShare from recurring play.
What attracts bettors to the Olympics, and what pain points can be addressed through creative designs and funnels?
Media buying for the 2026 Olympic Betting Market is an event-driven operation: a short time window, high interest, extensive live action, and critical timing. On 3S.INFO, we’ve prepared a compact, ready-to-use framework.
*Social networks Facebook and Instagram are blocked in Russia by court decision.
The 2026 Olympics in Milan and Cortina are not just a major sporting celebration but also a powerful window of opportunity for betting brands and affiliates. By correctly selecting GEOs, sports, payment models, and focusing on the mobile live experience, you can build a strong player base that will continue to generate revenue long after the flame in the Dolomites has been extinguished.
The 2026 Winter Olympics will be held in Italy, in a “dual-city” format: Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, officially known as Milano Cortina 2026, with dates from February 6th to 22nd, although the first events begin as early as February 4th. For betting, this means three weeks of high activity: simultaneous coverage of hockey, figure skating, skiing, biathlon, freestyle skiing, snowboarding, and the debut of ski mountaineering. This translates into a dense calendar of events, frequent traffic peaks, and numerous opportunities to launch targeted campaigns.
The popularity of disciplines is highly dependent on GEOs. In the USA and Canada, hockey, snowboarding, freestyle skiing, and figure skating perform best. In Norway, Sweden, Finland, Germany and Switzerland, audiences love biathlon, cross-country skiing, ski jumping, and alpine skiing. In Russia and Eastern Europe, hockey, figure skating, biathlon, and skiing are traditionally strong. In Japan, Korea and China, figure skating, short track, freestyle skiing, and ski jumping are most popular. The key marketing takeaway is this: campaigns must be tailored narrowly to the region and its preferred sports, rather than trying to promote the same set of creatives across all GEOs at once.
The Olympic calendar can be conveniently divided into three phases. Pre-hype phase (January – early February): focus on team announcements, content like “who are the favorites,” and futures betting. Main tournament phase (February 6–22): features maximum traffic peaks on days with finals in hockey, figure skating, biathlon, freestyle skiing and snowboarding. Post-event phase (late February – early March): includes reviews, highlights and transitioning the audience to World Championships and regular leagues. In practice, it is the finals involving top national teams and star athletes (Canada, USA, Russia/neutral team, Norway, Germany, Japan, etc.) that generate the highest peaks in clicks, registrations and live betting activity.
Before the Games, users research odds for the overall medal count and key event winners, actively bet on futures, and often register early while delaying their deposit until the first events. During the tournament, the focus shifts to live betting, with many small, emotionally driven bets on races, programs, and periods, as well as cross-sport interest (e.g., moving from hockey to biathlon or figure skating). After the Games, while some of the audience leaves, a core group remains and moves to regular tournaments. The affiliate’s task is to select brands with strong CRM and solid live betting offerings to retain these players and earn through RevShare, not just from a one-time FTD.
Key triggers: national pride (“bet on your own country”), the uniqueness of the event (the Olympics happen once every four years), the festive and hype-driven atmosphere, interest in niche winter disciplines, and the intense emotion of live moments. Pain points for beginners include unfamiliarity with betting lines and rules, fear of quickly losing money, distrust of brands, and frustration with complicated registration. Pain points for experienced bettors are sudden odds and limit reductions, shallow markets lacking statistics, “toxic” promotions, and weak live betting. To convert traffic effectively, a funnel must answer at least three key bettor questions: how to place a bet here (simple guides and demo slips), whether the brand is trustworthy (licensing, reputation, fast payouts), and what they miss by not betting now (a time-limited tournament plus clear value: a bonus, insurance, or special final-day promotion).
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