2023 Academy Awards Betting
The next Academy Awards show takes place in March of 2024, and that means that Oscars betting is on the mind of many a sports gambler. Of course, if you’re on the hunt for the best Oscars bets, your options are limited through brick-and-mortar channels. For most gamblers, Academy Awards betting is only going to be available over the Internet at offshore sportsbooks that offer entertainment betting lines.
Fortunately, it’s easy to bet on the Oscars, and every reputable book offers plenty of action on the star-studded gala. That said, before you put any money on your pick for Best Picture and all the other big movie awards, you’ll want to make sure you’re placing your wagers with the most trustworthy legal online betting sites possible. Read on to find out how!
Is It Legal To Bet On The Oscars?
If you live in the US, you can legally bet on the Academy Awards in one of two ways. For those residing in New Jersey, that state has approved Oscars betting as part of the regulated sportsbook offerings there. If you live anywhere else in the country, however, you must bet on the show by using an offshore sports betting site.
Note: Residents of Washington are precluded from all forms of gambling over the Internet. However, WA laws appear to be entirely unenforced, so you can proceed at your own discretion. We nevertheless advise that you follow all local gambling laws in your area.
Bovada Sportsbook
#1 Rated Legal Online Sportsbook For 2024
Bovada, operating inside the legal jurisdiction of Costa Rica, is the most popular online sportsbook in America, and they’ve been offering Academy Awards betting odds for years. As soon as the annual list of Oscar nominees is released, Bovada has live odds on the event, usually with lines for each category. Mix in some Academy Award props, and you’ve got dozens of ways to make some money off Hollywood for a change!
Site Rating
Compability
Pros
US Friendly - Most US States Accepted
Most reputable name in online sports betting
Licensed by Curacao - Operates within Costa Rica
Generous 50% bonus up to $1,000 for new members
Easy deposits using credit cards or Bitcoin/crypto
Fast and reliable payouts guaranteed
Cons
Only US, Mexico and Brazil players accepted
Residents of DE, MD, NJ, NV, NY not accepted
Limited deposit options compared to other sites
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How To Bet On The Oscars
Wagering on the Oscars is as simple as betting on any other sport. As long as you use a reputable offshore site that offers entertainment betting, you’ll have plenty of Oscars odds and lines to choose from. You’ll even have a selection of entertainment prop bets available. Signing up with any of our recommended providers is fast and free, so you can turn the red carpet green in no time flat!
Assembling your Academy Awards betting sheet works the same way as legal celebrity betting, betting on NFL games or betting on the Razzies: Just select the wager you wish to make, enter a dollar amount, and submit your ticket. You can place individual wagers or piece together parlays for even bigger payouts, making your Hollywood dreams come true!
95th Academy Awards 2024 Nominations And Odds
Who votes for the Oscars?
The entity that votes for Oscar winners is the Academy of Motion Pictures Art and Sciences or AMPAS, and consists of over 9,000 past and present movie industry specialists including actors, directors, and significant crew that works behind the camera.
About The Oscars - When Are The 95th Academy Awards?
If you’re looking for how to watch the Academy Awards, you can catch the big show live on ABC on March 26, 2023.
- Date: Sunday, March 26, 2023
- Time: 6:30 p.m. (pre-show), 8:00 p.m. (main show)
- Location: Los Angeles, CA
- Venue: Dolby Theatre
- Broadcast: ABC
- Streaming: ABC.com, ABC App
Legal Oscars Betting FAQs
Who is hosting the Academy Awards this year?
Those looking for who is hosting the Oscars in 2023 will need to wait until some time after January 1st for that announcement to be made by the Academy.
Should I take a shallow Oscar performance seriously when betting?
Picking Oscar winners is tough. In sports betting, you generally have a good statistical framework when handicapping players and teams. However, there are only a few real strategies for picking the folks who are going to receive Oscar trophies. While some bettors think the industry only awards those who turn in grand performances, be careful: Shallow performances are often the order of the day.
Remember, Oscars betting is like political betting, and Hollywood is extremely political in and of itself. If a role meshes with the social narratives of the day, it’s worth betting on. Talent and skill are often secondary to Hollywood’s mission to “drive culture.”
What should I look for when predicting the best Academy Award movies?
In addition to the above, there are other tips to take into consideration if you want to pick the winners successfully. The Oscars are rarely about any kind of empirical “best,” instead defaulting to politics and popularity. A great movie might not even get a nomination, after all, and Oscar-worthy performances are often ignored.
Empirically, there are two workable strategies if you want to pad your payroll. The first is to pick one of the two front-runners in any given category (as exemplified by last year’s award winners above). The second is to pick the underdog that most needs a critical shot in the arm to boost its retail and streaming sales. If a big earner and small earner are getting equal Oscar buzz, go with the smaller earner.
Can I bet on the Academy Awards in Vegas?
You cannot currently bet on the Oscars in Las Vegas, as only New Jersey allows entertainment betting at its state-regulated sportsbooks. While you will see things purporting to be Vegas odds on the Oscars at many online outlets, these are all hypothetical, and they’re almost always referencing the lines at offshore sportsbooks.
How can I get tickets to the Oscars?
Oscar tickets prices aren’t totally outrageous ($150-$750), but availability is a problem. In short, unless you’re “in Hollywood,” you can’t get a ticket to the event.
Tickets to the Academy Awards are reserved for invited celebrities, performers, presenters, nominees, and their guests. If you aren’t on the shortlist, you’ll have to watch from home.
How many people watch the Oscars?
The Oscars are popular, as is wagering on them. However, the market is considerably smaller for the Academy Awards than for, say, Super Bowl betting since major sporting events still dwarf the Hollywood award show.
Just as a point of comparison, the NFL’s championship game attracts roughly 100 million viewers each year, while the Oscars pull in only 25-30 million viewers annually. Still, that’s pretty good, especially considering that around 40% of US adults bet on sports and entertainment at least semi-regularly.
What was the biggest Oscar winner?
This is tough to quantify, from either a critical perspective or a betting perspective. From a critical standpoint, Bob Fosse winning Best Director for Cabaret over Francis Ford Coppola for The Godfather in 1973 is an easy pick.
However, a movie about the ultimate underdog winning Best Picture as a major underdog has to rank pretty highly in an industry that values metaphor, simile, irony, and poetic justice. So for our money, 1977’s Rocky is the biggest Oscar winner ever.
For statheads, of course, that lofty mantle probably belongs to Gone with the Wind (1939), which is the highest-grossing Best Picture winner of all time after earning an adjusted $1.8 billion since its release.
Why doesn’t my local sportsbook have Academy Awards betting?
Oscars betting odds are popular, and in most other countries with legal sports wagering, you can access lines on Hollywood’s biggest evening with ease or even find odds for the BAFTA awards. However, in the US, even as more legal sports betting venues crop up around the country, you can’t currently wager on the Oscars anywhere but in New Jersey.
This is largely due to the precedent set by the Nevada Gaming Control Board when Las Vegas was the only game in town, and while individual sports betting states haven’t outlawed entertainment betting, they tend not to offer reality TV and Oscars odds. This is likely to change in the future as more states adopt NJ’s online gambling model.