Betting on The Oscars is straightforward, and if you already have a membership at any licensed offshore sportsbook, you may bet on the event as you would any other. If you don't already have an account with a trustworthy online betting site, you'll need to join up and make a deposit before you can gamble.
The Oscars will award 24 categories; some sportsbooks may offer betting odds on all 24, but it is almost certain that participating sportsbooks will provide lines for the "Big Six," which include Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress. Before, during, and after the ceremony, the "Big Six" categories command the most media interest and headlines. The committee will even give out medals for other categories during commercial breaks or while television cameras are distracted, increasing the exposure of these six.
All Oscars bets are moneyline wagers or straightforward "who will win?" bets. These bets have no variability and do not take into account circumstances, rivalry, or any other external source. This is the most basic kind of betting, in which a player simply selects a line - in this example, an actor, actress, filmmaker, director, film, or whatever linked to the entertainment industry - and wagers that they will win an Oscar in a specific category.
Favorites are represented by a "-" at the front of their value, whereas underdogs are designated by a "+"; when there is no bet with a "-" value, the actor, actress, or film line with the number nearest to +100 is the frontrunner for the Oscar in that category.
So, if the chances for best actor are +150, +200, +280, +300, and +600, the +150 is the projected winner; if the odds are -130, +300, +300, +450, and +800, the -130 is a huge favorite and would be difficult to beat.
Betting odds for Oscar nominees are calculated by examining many performance criteria, such as box office performance, festival outcomes, and the general response from critics and the public. There is no perfect formula that will correctly predict the favorites and underdogs every year, but the odds are typically a reasonable indication of a film's, actress's, director's, etc's strength at the Oscars.
Upsets occur frequently at the Oscars, just like they do in athletics, so predicting when and where they will occur is how bettors may find the greatest value while remaining strictly moneyline bettors.