Eric Uribe
The 2022 Winter Olympics are in full force already, but the men’s curling tournament doesn’t start until February 9. It’s one of the better betting opportunities in Beijing, which led us to creating this article. We’ll preview the tourney ahead and then offer our own men’s curling betting picks.
First thing is first, let’s see what the oddsmakers think about the upcoming tourney. At the moment, the most-used online sportsbooks have pegged the following countries as betting favorites:
| Country |  |  |
| Canada | +200 | +200 |
| Great Britain | +200 | +200 |
| Sweden | +300 | +300 |
| Switzerland | +900 | +900 |
| USA | +1000 | +1000 |
2022 Olympics: Men’s Curling Betting Picks
There are 10 different teams vying to win gold and be your men’s curling betting picks, but if we’re being completely honest, only five nations have a realistic chance at winning it all (more on who soon). Nonetheless, all 10 of these teams are thrown into a round-robin stage in which every single country plays one another. At the conclusion of this round, the top four teams in the standings will qualify for the semi-finals. From there, it’s a single-elimination tournament to decide all three medals — gold, silver, and bronze.
And now for a history lesson: curling first appeared at the Winter Olympics in 1924, before a 74-year layoff. But since 1998, curling has been a staple of the Games. Canada has three of the seven gold medals ever presented in this event. However, the reigning champion of 2018 are the United States. But we’re betting a new country dethrones them in 2022, which makes up our picks below. Let’s get into it:
Canada
The Canadians are on a “redemption tour” of sorts after flopping at the 2018 Olympics. Back then, Canada failed to medal for the first time since curling became an Olympic staple in 1998. The disappointment of 2018 may have just been what this program needed — a “wake-up call” and a chance to re-focus. Because let’s be honest, talent is Canada’s problem — it rarely has been.
File this under the shocking but true file: six of the top eight men’s teams in the world rankings are Canadian. Six (or 75 percent, in other words)! The other countries on that list are Finland (Bruce Mouat is number one overall) and Sweden (Niklas Edin is five). Brad Gushue is Canada’s top-ranked team and they’re in Beijing. The 41-year-old won gold 16 years ago in Turin and he’s back for potentially his last hoorah in the Olympics.
So yes, we’re betting that Canada reclaims their spot atop the curling world pecking order. They have the redemption story. They have the experience. And yes, they certainly have the talent. Bet Canada with confidence here!
Sweden
Other countries have caught up to Canada in curling over the last decade or so — including Sweden, which is led by Nik Edin. He’s led the country to bronze in 2014 and silver in 2018, but a gold medal has eluded him. With Edin being 36 years old, this feels like the best chance at getting the “monkey off his back” and winning it all. We’re betting that it indeed happens.
Some bettors might be asking themselves, “why two bets?” At these odds, you don’t have to go “all in” on one country to win big. Take our two-bet approach with Canada and Sweden, for example. Let’s say we throw a $100 on each to outright win. So long as one of the nations win, we’re still very profitable. With that same $100 example, a Canada win would become a $100 profit for us. If Sweden wins, that profit margin bumps up to $200. With how competitive curling has become, splitting bets is a smart way to go about wagering.
How To Watch Men’s Curling At The 2022 Olympics?
Want to watch your bets unfold on TV? Of course, you do! If you’re inside the United States, watching men’s curling at the 2022 Olympics can be done on NBC — or one of its “sister” networks like USA or CNBC. The three TV channels will split coverage of curling and the rest of the Olympic events. For people that’ve cut the cord, you can stream the action via the fuboTV or NBC Peacock app.
As we said earlier, the curling event gets underway on February 9. The tournament runs non-stop for 10 days until the gold medal game on February 19.
How To Bet On Men’s Curling At The 2022 Olympics?
So what’s it going to be — taking our Canada and Sweden betting advice? Fading it? No matter what your decision is, you can bet on men’s curling at the Olympics at one of the bookies listed underneath. These sites will have all the sports betting odds for curling you can think of. Not just other bets like futures like we covered above, but also the daily matches.
But here’s the real kicker: the below bookmakers are offering free money to bettors like you. Yes, it’s true and the money is awarded through several sportsbook bonuses. As much as $2500 in free play is available at certain sites. The table underneath has details on what bonuses are currently available. Pick one and you’re on your way to free money!
