Politics Betting
If you thought betting on outcomes was only limited to sports, you’d be mistaken. In recent years, there has been a big rush to bet on all sorts of competitions, including entertainment and politics. If you’ve been solely focused on sports until now, here’s our rundown of how to bet on these off-the-cuff options.
Bet On Politics
Politics betting isn’t usually a regular option on the markets as it solely focuses on big events. In the United States, that typically revolves around the Presidential Election, you can check out the 2016 election odds to get a better picture. Most sportsbooks will only offer odds on who will become the next President of the United States of America, but there are the odd shop that will give you a few more options to choose from. For example, 2016 has been a particularly heated election cycle with all sorts of bizarre happenings. To capitalize on the popularity, betting sites like Bodog have posted odds on who will win certain primaries, who will be each respective party’s nominee and even posted lines on a potential third party/independent run.
Most of the political betting is focused on the American Presidential election but certain sportsbooks will post odds on their local politics, depending on their home base. For example, the U.K. sportsbooks will post odds on who will be the next mayor of London or who will be the country’s next prime minister. Aside from those major events, we don’t see too many options for betting on politics.
Entertainment Betting
Entertainment betting has grown in popularity thanks to the rise of reality shows. Any time there is a competition for prizes, stardom or love, you’ll often find odds on it. That includes shows like Survivor, Dancing with the Stars, The Bachelor/Bachelorette and many more. If you watch the shows closely enough, you can gauge who is a serious contender and who really doesn’t have much of a chance, which could give you an edge.
Aside from that, you can always find odds on the major awards shows too. When it’s that time of the year for the Oscars and Grammy’s to roll up, you’ll find those odds at most sportsbooks. Some sportsbooks will only offer odds on the main categories, such as Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Picture, whereas others will go more in depth and offer lines on every category that is on the line.
There are a few sportsbooks that will also offer odds on wacky celebrity-related happenings. For example, betting on who the next James Bond will be or whether Kim Kardashian and Kanye West will break up. There isn’t a huge market for this type of thing but there are certain sportsbooks that specialize in this type of thing.
Note The Limits
When it comes to betting on politics and entertainment, there are often very low limits. While that can sometimes be negotiated in politics, particularly with trending election odds due to the upcoming US election 2016, the limits are almost always very low and there’s a simply reason why: the outcomes are already known. Take The Amazing Race, for example. The episodes of the show are recorded earlier throughout the year and then aired later. If you really dig on the internet for spoilers, you can find out who the winner is before the first episode even airs. That means that the sportsbooks could be vulnerable to be taken for a ride, which is why the limits are very low. Also, if the sportsbooks see that you’re constantly betting these types of events and always winning, they’re likely to close you’re account as they’ll assume that you know where to find the outcomes before everyone else.