Entertainment betting sites

What counts as entertainment

The Oscars and the Grammys, singing contests such as The Voice and Eurovision, reality shows, award nights, scripted wrestling. Some are voted on by a panel, some by viewers, and some are decided in a writers' room. That last point is the one to hold on to. The entertainment awards guide covers how each kind is decided, and the WWE and novelty props page covers the scripted ones.

Who deals it

Many regulated books don't take these bets at all, or take only the biggest award nights. The offshore books deal more of them, and the list below shows the books we've reviewed whose own sites list entertainment markets, A to Z. A book is left out when its review doesn't say, which doesn't mean it never deals a singing contest.

The result can be known early

A show taped weeks before it airs has a winner sitting in a vault. An award has a list of voters, and a ballot count done before the envelope is opened. A wrestling match has a finish written in advance. That is why these markets come with small limits and early closing times, and why most books keep the right to void a bet when the result was known, or leaked, at the time it was placed.

I'd take that rule seriously. A big price on a contestant the day before the final can mean the book is slow, and it can also mean somebody knows something. If you win on a leak, expect the bet to be voided. If you lose on one, the book won't hand your money back. The voided wager answer goes through the reasons books give.

Reading the price

These boards are usually multi-way, with a dozen names or more, and the cut built into them is far wider than on a game. Add up the implied chances on a long list and they often come to well over 100 percent. I'd shop two books before I bet, and stay away from the favorite at a short price unless you know why it's short.

Your side of it

Entertainment betting is for fun, and I'd size it that way: small stakes, money you've already decided you can lose, and no chasing on the next show. If you find yourself betting a contest you don't watch because the price looks big, that's the moment to stop.