Bet on Biathlon Online | Best Bookmakers 2023

The basics of biathlon betting

When it comes to sports betting, sticking with the mainstream sports may be a big miss for you. That’s what a lot of bettors take their chances elsewhere and place wagers on less popular sports. But just because it’s a lesser-known sport does not mean that they bet blindly. It’s actually the complete opposite.

How does betting on a lesser-known sports help bettors? Well, they don’t avoid sticking to biases. Bettors can truly get to know the ins and outs of the sport and can have even greater chances at winning big.

Regardless of whether it’s a men’s or women’s biathlon, Norwegians typically come out as the favorite each season.

What is biathlon betting?

You may or may not have heard of it, but biathlon is a sport of Scandinavian origin that has gained popularity worldwide, especially Germany and Austria. It combines two sporting events: cross-country skiing and rifle shooting, so without surprise, it’s a winter sporting event.

How is it played? Well, players make stop on their ski track to do shooting. Scoring is based on accuracy, speed, and time taken to finish the race.

While the sport itself may be unique, the betting style is quite similar to that of betting on other sports games. Bettors can pick winners of the events, and also place other bets within each game. As it is not followed upon heavily, knowing when and where to bet is vital.

Biathlon sporting events to bet on

Yep! The major event for biathlons is actually the Winter Olympics. Sports betting sites usually add the game to their rosters for bettors. Otherwise, events are held in Norther Europe during the wintertime, including the IBU Biathlon World Cup and Championships.

This past season (November 2021 to March 2022), there were 10 different locations with 28 events in all for Biathlon competitions. The Biathlon World Cup contains 4 events: Individual, Spring, Pursuit, and Mass Start. There are also relay competitions.

How to bet on biathlon?

Because biathlon is an uncommon sport that can only be held during the winter season, the first step to betting is to keep tabs on when the event occurs. Check the Biathlon Union website to check out dates of when and where the games are held. Then, you need to pick an online betting site where biathlon markets are available.

One of the first steps that’s also very important is researching the participants and how they may perform. This is relatively simple, though, because it’s a small sport that doesn’t get much news coverage.

Who are the best players? Here’s a list:

Lowell Bailey (United States)
Ondřej Moravec (Czech Republic)
Martin Fourcade (France)
Arnd Peiffer (Germany)
Johannes Thingnes Bø (Norway)
Vladimir Iliev (Bulgaria)
Arnd Peiffer (Germany)
Sturla Holm Lægreid (Norway)

As the season begins to kick up, bookmakers will provide the odds for punters to place their bets. You may be wondering, but what can they bet on? Players can place wagers on overall winners, series winners, the most accurate shooters, faster shooters, and more. Select sportsbooks even off live biathlon betting, so punters can place bets in real time.

Understanding the odds of biathlon betting

Bookmakers will state the odds of each biathlon and look at information like form, past performance, opposition quality, etc. All of this information will be available on the biathlon betting site prior to the event. Biathlon betting odds may also change last minute if an unforeseen event occurs, such as if a strong player pulls out of their team or if an injury is reported.

While odds remain about the same, different formats can be used across the world. For example, American odds are placed in a moneyline while European odds appear in decimals or fractions. In America, negative signs mean that a player is stronger than the other player they are up against. So, the favorite may have a -50 odd and the underdog may have a +25 odd.

If a player stakes $1 and it’s a 10/1 odd, they will receive $10 upon a win. In addition, 2.5 means that also upon a win, a player will receive two-and-a-half times the amount they wagered. So if someone bets $10, they will win $25.

What to consider being wagering

When it comes to biathlons, athlete preparation takes two forms during the season: 1. Players who have one peak of form, and 2. Players who have two peaks of form. When it comes to the sport, there’s a lot to consider when it comes to performance. How is the weather looking? How is each player’s shooting success?

Weather should be considered because biathletes use a 22 Long Rifle and shoot at targets with a distance of 50 meters. If the weather is poor or the player hasn’t been performing well during the current season, the day’s performance may be less than exceptional.

Biathlon betting opportunities

Like many sports out there, there are unique opportunities when it comes to betting on biathlons.

High Odds: While almost all of the odds in biathlons have above-average margins, skilled players will be able to identify and use certain boulders, including “who is higher?” and “who will miss more?” However, analytical centers usually don’t pay much attention to biathlons and leave it to bookmakers to give highly inflated odds. These odds can be used well by experienced players.
Forking along the early line: Many factors contribute to the point that even in the face of a lofty margin, forks can be established when it comes to the odds of some pairs in the “who is higher” graph. This is a risk-free bet by wagering varying odds at different offices. Coefficients are quickly assigned; however, the fastest players will have the opportunity to catch the fork of their desires.

Biathlon betting disadvantages

High Margins

Because biathlons are still not very popular, it doesn't come as a surprise that bookmakers set high margins when it comes to biathlon betting online. Still, determined fans of these bets must deal with the injustice because there is no alternative in sight.

Low Betting Limits

It's often that low betting limits accompany a high margin. Biathlons, in this case, see no exception. You likely won't find a sportsbook that allows thousands of dollars to be placed on the outcome of a biathlon race. On average, a maximum bet is set to $150-$300.

In addition, many online sports bookies don't offer bets on biathlons at all, so you must do your research and find one that does if you choose to place bets. Even though you can watch biathlon broadcasts on several American channels, many sportsbooks still don't support biathlons at all.

Rare Live Presence

Single bookies only offer live bets on biathlons. Because of the challenges in providing bets for these changing races and because biathlons are still not gaining popularity, there are limits. Bookmakers present an excessively shortened, clipped form with regular pauses, changes, and suspensions in coefficients. Thus, you can't really call the process a "live" one.

Accident Factors

While all sports game results are relatively random, in a biathlon, luck remains at the forefront. Why? The entire event can be decided by a light breeze or bad weather that is calm one minute and crazy the next. The unpredictability of the race makes betting on biathlon that of a lottery.

Seasonal Limitation

Unlike many other sports that can run year-round, the major biathlon competitions are held only from November to March. So, fans must patiently wait for more than six months before the biathlon comes back. Also, after the new season starts, major changes can occur during the significant break. These make the beginning stages of the World Cup unpredictable for most.

Biathlon betting types

Winner of the Race: This betting style should come as no surprise. It’s quite simple too: You bet who will finish first. Being that there are no universal favorites for the sport, the odds for the favorite are lower. And being there are many candidates, margins remain solid.

Top Three Finishers: With this betting style, you can determine who lands not just in first but also in second and third. You bet on who will stand on the podium after the races conclude. Odds on favorites will often fall below the 1.4 mark.

Higher Finisher: Typically the highest in popularity among biathlon betting enthusiasts, higher finisher takes the cake. Not all sportsbooks offer it; however, the online sport bookmakers that generally cover winter sports will offer these lines. You can find up to 30 comparisons at the World Championship Races. For each, you can predict which player will pair higher than another.

The Most Mistakes: This position is more rare when it comes to lines in bookmakers. Therefore, it comes in higher demand. More often than not, the limits of bets on this betting style are limited. So, big players who bet on the number of misses isn't the most interesting. For everyone else, it's a good chance to gain some adrenaline and make the game more interesting.

Other Options : In addition, the sportsbooks that actually offer bets on biathlon also offer bets on the number of misses with a handicap, individual total misses, double total misses, top six places, which country will boast the winner, and more. Numbers and other types of offers are limited only to what the sportsbook creator has conjured up in their imagination.

Key takeaways

Biathlons are only held in the winter
Know the sports ins and outs for best chances
Bets can be made on skiing and shooting
Know the statistics of each participant before placing bets
Consider the weather

Everything about Biathlon betting