Award Show Betting

In recent years award show betting has grown in popularity and now you can find hundreds of markets for the major award shows such as the Grammys, Oscars, Golden Globe and VMA. With several major shows hosted annually there is plenty to bet on.

We recommend the following online sportsbooks as the best for betting on award shows. They’ll give you the best odds and promotions available.

How to Bet on Award Shows

A lot of people don’t have time to bet on entertainment markets such as reality shows because it takes a time commitment to watch and handicap the contestants. With award show betting you can do your research and place your bets the day of the live show.

• Award Betting – Who Will Win X Award

Example: 12 Years A Slave to Win Best Picture –600

The most common way to bet on award ceremonies is to bet on which of the nominations will win the award. You can bet on every award handed out at the major award ceremonies annually including best picture, best actor, best actress, best director and more.

If music is your strength than you should focus on the Grammys and VMA’s. Think you know which nominee will win the best record of the year or the best album of the year? I prefer betting the music awards because the markets are much more competitive.

With the movie awards the winner is often very clear cut each year and trying to bet against the heavy favorites is unprofitable. With the music awards the competition for the awards is usually much closer. It’s harder to predict, but the payout odds are reasonable.

I’m not saying to avoid big favorites though, as they can often be the closest things to a “lock” in betting. Some years one movie just shines above the rest of them. When there is a clear favorite in award markets it’s often best to follow the money or not bet.

• Award Show Props Betting

Example: Lorde to Win Most Awards at Grammys

There are all sorts of props that can be bet on for the various award ceremonies. Sportsbooks will put up odds on which nominees will win the most awards. They’ll also post various props on whether a nominee will win multiple awards or not at the ceremony.

Betting sites go as far as posting odds on whether or not there will be wardrobe malfunctions on the red carpet or whether an actor or actress will show up to the red carpet single. People love betting on celebrities and the sportsbooks post tons of prop bets.

When multiple artists are nominated for more than one award you can also bet on various H2H or over/under markets. If an artist is nominated for four awards you’ll be able to bet on whether or not they’ll win over 3.5 awards or under 3.5 awards.

Most Popular Award Shows to Bet On

• Music: Grammys / MTV Music Awards (VMA)

• Film: Oscars / Golden Globes / Emmys

The award ceremonies listed above are the most popular and odds are always available on these annual shows. Without a doubt the Grammys and Oscars are the two most popular and they have many more prop markets than the other award ceremonies.

Throughout the year sportsbooks will post up other award show odds, but they aren’t as common and the betting limits are smaller than what they are with the big award shows. Always keep an eye up for odds on award shows once the nominees are announced.

Tips for Betting on Award Ceremonies

In most cases you can’t bet on parlays, which is where you place two picks on the same bet. This helps because you can bet on a few big favorites to receive a respectable payout if they all win. Since there are no parlays you have to really hunt down the value.

There are upsets at the award shows, but heavy market favorites usually won’t lose. This year (2014) at the Oscars Alfonso Cuaron was –2000 to win best director. He won, but it isn’t worth betting on because you’d only win $5 profit for every $100 that you bet.

Always study results from the smaller award shows throughout the year to find out which artists are winning a lot of awards leading up to the Grammys and Oscars. Make sure you stay up to date on with the nominees for each award as well.

For instance, at the Grammys this year Macklemore & Ryan Lewis were favored to win album of the year and second in the market to win song of the year, yet they were priced at only –300 to win best new artist of the year, which they easily won.

While everyone likes to bet on which movie will win best picture or which artist will win best song of the year there is often better value looking at the smaller awards. The smaller awards aren’t priced as well because not as many people bet on them.

To be successful at betting on award shows you’ll need the ability to spot value plus have a bit of luck. If I expect a favorite to win I won’t even consider betting them at over –500 odds, which means I have to pass on betting on a lot of the awards.

Your best bet is to look for underdogs that have a good chance of winning an award. Not only will you need to win less of your bets to remain profitable, but you’ll also never have to risk a large amount of money to win a small amount of profit.

Some years there are shocking upsets that payout very well. Just a few years ago (2011) Esperanza Spalding won best new artist at the Grammys at 800 odds. She was the biggest underdog in the field, but beat Justin Bieber, Drake and several other artists.

Remember to have fun and never bet more than you can afford to lose. There are countless award shows to bet on each year, so don’t get carried away and bet all of your money on one show. Do your research and avoid betting anything that’s too juiced.

Sportbooks For Betting On Award Shows