New Jersey sportsbooks have been given the green light to offer wagers on this year’s Academy Awards.
NJ’s Division of Gaming Enforcement has advised its nine sportsbooks that they can start accepting bets for the famous Hollywood event.
At this stage, the betting approval has been given on a once-off basis as a result of multiple e-mail requests from the sportsbooks.
It will apply only to this year’s Oscars ceremony which is set to take place in LA on February 24. New applications will be needed for future Academy Award shows.
Wagering on ‘best film’, ‘best male and female actor’ and ‘best director’ of the year is sure to be a hit with some punters
It would be surprising if it and other non-sport bets like ‘who will be the next US president’ become permanent fixtures in NJ schedules.
Some sportsbooks have posted Academy Award odds
It is reported by Gambling.com that some New Jersey betting operators began posting odds on the Oscars yesterday (Thursday).
It will be interesting to see if this form of non-sports wagering performs as well in the exploding NJ betting industry as sports betting. Certainly, there has been a call for it in the USA.
Nevada Resort Association representative Scott Nielson asked the Nevada Gaming Control Board last year to consider allowing such entertainment contests to be given the thumbs up.
Nevada currently does not allow wagering on contests with pre-determined outcomes except in sport
“Things like MVP awards, the draft, the Heisman trophy’ were okay, he told The Las Vegas Review-Journal.
“The process for determining how those contest are conducted and awarded is well-known and fairly well recognized,” he added.
If the same could be said for non-sports awards like the Academy Awards, the Emmys and the Grammys, why not create a second list?
“It would make for some interesting and some exciting wagers for some betting people”
Betting on entertainment is commonplace in the United Kingdom. You can bet on the outcome of reality shows like ‘Britain’s Got Talent’.
You can also bet on the outcome of shows like ‘The Game of Thrones’ and ‘Master Chef’.
