With sports betting now legal in more and more states within the U.S., online sportsbooks are now targeting broader audiences. DraftKings Sportsbook, for instance, took thousands of bets a couple weeks back on how long Gladys Knight’s Super Bowl National Anthem would last.
People now bet on everything under the sun, including politics (Election results are a big one) and TV shows (Who will be the first character to cry in the season finale of This Is US?).
The Academy Awards have always been a big pop culture betting opportunity and you can bet on who will win all of the awards right now at DraftKings Sportsbook. You can get a free $20 bet at DraftKings by going to Metro.us/oscars20.
Here are the latest odds on the major categories.
Odds to win Best Picture – Get a free $20 bet now at DraftKings Sportsbook
Roma -180
Green Book +350
The Favourite +900
BlacKkKlansman +1500
A Star is Born +1600
Bohemian Rhapsody +1800
Black Panther +1800
Vice +6600
Advice: What fun is betting the favorite (Roma at -180), when you can bet on THE FAVOURITE at +900!? If you’re not familiar with betting lines, here’s how this works: If you placed $100 on The Favourite to win at +900, you would win $900 if The Favourite pulled off the upset on Sunday! Of course you don’t have to bet that much money. At DraftKings Sportsbook there is a $5 minimum. If you put down $5 on The Favourite to win Best Picture, you would net $45. Not a bad night!
Odds to win Best Actor – Get a free $20 bet now at DraftKings Sportsbook
Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) -300
Christian Bale (Vice) +200
Bradley Cooper (A Star is Born) +1400
Viggo Mortensen (Green Book) +2500
Willem Dafoe (At Eternity’s Gate +5000)
Advice: Christian Bale is a good bet here. He won Best Supporting Actor in 2011 with The Fighter but has never won Best Actor. The Academy wouldn’t mind sticking it to Dick Cheney, too.
Odds to win Best Actress – Get a free $20 bet now at DraftKings Sportsbook
Glenn Close (The Wife) -500
Olivia Coleman (The Favourite) +400
Lady Gaga (A Star is Born) +800
Yalitza Aparicio (Roma) +3300
Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) +3300
Advice: This looks like a slam dunk for Glenn Close. She holds the actress record for most Oscar nominations without a win and a loss here would be cruel. The Academy desperately needs a feel-good moment on this show and giving Close the award would certainly do the trick.
You can also bet on fun Oscars prop bets like, “How many times will Donald Trump be mentioned on stage?” Right now the over – under is 1.5 times, and you’ve got to like that over considering the Academy Awards is typically the largest congregation of outspoken liberals on the planet year-in and year-out.
Some other fun ones are “How long will the official ABC broadcast last?,” as the show almost always goes a good half hour too long, and “Will any winners be bleeped during their acceptance speech?”
