2018 Commonwealth Games Information, Betting Preview & Tips

COMMONWEALTH GAMES HISTORY

First created as the British Empire Games in 1930 and held in Hamilton, Canada, the Commonwealth Games has been held every four years with the exception of 1942 and 1946, due to World War II. Since 1958, The Queen’s Baton Relay has taken place prior to each Commonwealth Games, traditionally starting at Buckingham Palace. Since the 1998 Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the baton has travelled to other Commonwealth nations and carries a message from Queen Elizabeth II, which is read aloud at the official opening ceremony.

COMMONWEALTH GAMES HOST

The 2018 Commonwealth Games will be held at Gold Coast, in Queensland, Australia. This will be the fifth time Australia has been the host venue, following Sydney 1938, Perth 1962, Brisbane 1982, and Melbourne 2006.

COMMONWEALTH GAMES FORMAT

The 2018 Commonwealth Games will feature a total of 275 events in 18 sports, taking place between the opening ceremony on Wednesday 4th April, until Sunday 15th April and the closing ceremony.

A medals table consistent with the International Olympic Committee convention is also published, ordered principally by the number of gold medals won by a nation, followed by silver and bronze. At the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, the overall leaders were England, followed by Australia and then Canada.

COMMONWEALTH GAMES EVENTS

The biggest individual number of medals events in any sport is Aquatics with 60, with 10 for Diving and 50 for Swimming. This is followed by Athletics with a total of 58 medal events. Other events include:

Badminton, Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Boxing, Cycling (Mountain, Road, Track), Gymnastics (Artistic, Rhythmic), Hockey, Lawn Bowls, Netball, Rugby Sevens, Shooting, Squash, Table Tennis, Triathlon, Weightlifting (and Powerlifting), and Wrestling.

COMMONWEALTH GAMES BETTING

While many traditional markets will be available for team events, such as Basketball and Rugby Sevens, the Commonwealth Games will also feature numerous outright markets for individual events across all sports, including Athletics and Swimming as the most popular, plus markets focused on the overall medals table amongst the 70 competing nations.

COMMONWEALTH GAMES TIPS

As the all-time Commonwealth Games medals table leaders, and as 2018 hosts, Australia will be the favourites to win the most medals again, closely followed by England and Canada. At Oddschecker, we’ll have data and previews leading up to the key event finals, along with comparisons of the best odds offered by the leading bookmakers.

COMMONWEALTH GAMES ALL-TIME MEDAL LEADERS