You do not have to be a sports betting fan to enjoy a little flutter here and there: entertainment betting may be an interesting area to explore. Entertainment betting markets can be found at all the top UK bookmakers or the best Irish betting sites. They are as common now as finding football and horse racing in a sportsbook.
Some bookies may call them ‘entertainment’ bets or ‘specials’ but they are all under the same umbrella of being non-sports novelty bets. Here we look at some of the best areas of novelty betting.
Reality TV Betting
This is the biggest area of entertainment betting, as watching people get voted off islands and out of jungles can be a thrilling ride. Reality TV shows engage their viewers and make them have a vested interest in their favourite people on the show.
Big Brother was the front-runner in this area of novelty betting. But it has largely been taken over by singing and talent contests like X-Factor, Britain’s Got Talent, The Voice and Dancing With The Stars.
Big headline-making shows like The Bachelor have also muscled in on this. Punters can vote not only on the winners of the series but also on aspects of the show like the next person to be eliminated.
TV Shows
Entertainment betting goes a lot further than the big reality TV genre. Bets are accepted on other types of shows as well such as Doctor Who, where punters pick out the next actor to step into the show’s leading role.
A major event in a soap opera can even raise a betting market. One of the biggest ever reported of these was the 2015 murder mystery in EastEnders. Bookmakers reported a million wagers taken on who killed Lucy Beale to a total of somewhere around £80 million.
Betfair at the time announced that they had taken more wagers on the EastEnders storyline than they did for the 2014 UEFA Champions League Final. Back in 2012 Coronation Street betting markets were suspended by Sky Bet on who killed Frank Foster.
More recently, Game of Thrones was heavily bet on, plus there’s the great annual spectacle that is Eurovision.
Awards Betting
Another angle into the world of entertainment betting is Awards shows, some of which tie back to TV. Among the big markets for this are the Oscars, the Brit Awards, the BAFTAs, the Emmys and the Nobel Peace Prize Awards.
These are straightforward markets, simply picking out the winner. After final nominations say in the Best Actor category at the Oscars, it leaves a small field and generally not a great deal of real odds value. So they are markets to get into as much ahead of time as possible.
Betting On Movies
One of the biggest film betting markets is the Next James Bond one. This just continuously rolls on and on. Even when Daniel Craig was announced as the next super spy for 2006’s Casino Royale, the betting market was straight back open on who would succeed him.
Depending on the bookmaker you chose, you will find different types of movie markets pop up. It could be the first film of the year to break £100 Million at the box office, or which movie from a list is going to Premiere first.
And the List Goes On
Entertainment in and of itself is a wide scope of different things. There’s music, there are video games and even the weather. At any of the best betting sites, you can find markets on a White Christmas.
The Royal Family is a hugely popular novelty betting market as well. Dates for Royal betting can be backed, such as the year that Prince William will take over from his father as King. There are Royal Wedding and Royal Divorce odds to be found too.
The real crowning jewel though is the Next Royal Baby name. That’s arguably the most popular, with punters clamouring to pick a name once a Royal pregnancy has been announced.
Politics is another major area of novelty betting. There are a lot of different angles for political betting, from the Next Prime Minister, to who is going to be the next leader of a specific party, when the next General Election will be and even down to the number of seats won by a party in an election.
In Summary
From the high-tension drama of reality TV shows to the gripping soap opera action, there are so many novelty markets to explore. If you are interested in entertainment bets, you can find a bookmaker for that at Match.Center. Entertainment betting has become increasingly popular throughout the years and shows no sign of slowing up.