Specials Betting Guide (TV shows, politics, …)

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Ever since the Internet came around, online gambling has been thriving. Nowadays, there are millions of players and hundreds of sportsbooks that are trying to find their place on the market. The competition for customers is fierce and works in the best favour of the players. There are plenty of consequences such as promotions, high odds, high limits, and other benefits.

One of the most important among them is the variety of betting markets offered by the bookmakers. They try to give each player as many options as possible. This is why you can find almost everything available for betting. The list even includes some special markets that have nothing to do with sports. This article will go through the most popular among them and give you some instructions how to bet on them.

Betting on TV shows

Many TV shows such as Big Brother, Music Idol, and The Bachelor have gained a lot of popularity in the past 10-15 years or maybe even more. This is the reason a lot of bookies are offering the option to bet on them.

Betting markets

Here are the markets you could expect to see when it comes to such TV Shows:

• Outright Winner: the classic market that allows you to place a wager on which contestant is going to win the show at the end;
• To get eliminated: such TV shows usually have rounds of eliminations and you could place a wager on the person you think is going to get eliminated;
• Head to Head: another interesting option is the head to head market. You can bet on two players going against each other and which of them will get more votes. This could be either positive or negative votes, the bookies always add this information;
• To go further: this one is similar to the previous option, but in the long-term. While the head to head applies to a certain event, like a voting or an elimination, here you will be betting on the contestant who will go further in the show.

How to get the best of TV shows betting?

Unlike sports, you barely have any data to analyze before placing your bet. This means you will have to use a rather unorthodox approach when picking where to put your money. The focal point of each strategy related to TV shows is to evaluate a couple vital aspects.

For a start, make sure you know how the format works. In some cases, only the audience decides what happens. In other shows, there’s a jury that has some impact. Finally, there’s the option that the contestants themselves decide what happens every now and then. You should always be completely aware what to expect in terms of how a certain outcome is determined.

The next thing you need to do is focus on each participant. Start by taking a closer look at their personality and how appealing they might to the public. The first thing you need to do is explore the demographics of the show. Is it watched mostly by women or by men? What ages?

By acquiring this information, you will have a better idea what exactly might be well-received by the audience. You should always try to be objective and base your predictions on reason and logic, not your own biased opinion.

If the TV show is related to a performance of some kind, like dancing or singing, you should also consider the skills of the participants. In fact, if there’s a person who’s immensely talented, this could be the only thing that matters at the end.

Betting on awards

This type of novelty betting is very similar to TV shows in the sense there are a number of contestants and a winner is selected in the end. A good example of award ceremonies you can bet on are the Oscars, the UK Sports Personality of the Year by BBC, the Grammy, and so on. Most elite bookmakers out there will give you the opportunity to place a wager and have a go.

Betting markets

Let’s take a look at the typical betting options when it comes to various awards:

• Winner: this one is quite obvious. Whether it’s the Best Actor at the Oscars or World Footballer of the Year, you are placing your money on the person who you think would win;
• Over/Under: you can place a wager on the number of awards a certain person or a movie, for example, will win at a ceremony. The Oscars and the Grammies are probably the best examples of events that provide such an opportunity;
• Other: some bookmakers like Paddy Power have some borderline crazy bets. For example, you can bet on who’s going to give the longest speech at the BAFTA awards or if the winner of the Best Director Academy Award is going to drop the Oscar. They obviously don’t represent an opportunity to make money but could provide a lot of fun.

How to get the best of awards betting?

It’s really hard to find patterns and logic behind the awards betting, as the bookies are usually prepared well. They rarely make a mistake with the odds. However, we do have one advice for you that could help you find good opportunities.

Obviously, the main factor behinds music, movie, sports, or any kind of awards is the performance of the person or team nominated to win it. Still, there is one factor that plays a huge role. While it’s not officially part of any event of this kind, the social factor can’t be ignored.

Usually, it can flip the fortunes of certain movies or people. For example, the recent Harvey Weinstein scandal and the #MeToo movement tarnished the reputation of some directors and actors. As a result, they could be ignored by the people deciding who gets an award.

Betting on Politics

Another popular option when it comes to unconventional betting market is politics. You will find all kinds of elections available, but mostly from Europe and North America. You can place a wager on presidential fights, general elections, and many other. This is probably one of the few special betting markets that actually have solid potential if you have enough knowledge.

Here are the most common options when it comes to politics betting:

• To win the election: this one is self-explanatory, you can pick a candidate or a party to win a certain election;
• Winning margin: it gets a bit more interesting here, as you have the chance to bet on the winning margin. It usually is measured in percentages of the voters, but it could be also seats in the parliament or something similar;
• One or two rounds: during some elections, the process is such that there could be one or two round. It usually depends on the results from the first round and if one of the candidates can swipe the elections. You can place money on this too.

How to get the best of politics betting

One of the biggest advantages of politics betting is that you have some data at your disposal. There are plenty of polls, charts, and other predictors. However, you should always be highly critical of those and check the background of the media outlet or agency that has performed the poll. It could be biased and serving an agenda.

A good example of polls gone wrong was the US election in 2016. According to the mainstream media, Donald Trump had no chance of becoming a president. At the end of the day, that’s what happened. This is why you should take the polls in mind, but you always add more information.

Another thing about elections is that you should be checking what are the trends. A candidate might be leading with 5 points at some point, but if he was leading with 10 a month ago, this changes the context significantly.

Finally, you should always take the time to research exactly how certain elections work. The system is different around the globe. For example, the president of most countries in Europe is determined by the popular vote. However, if you look at the US system, it’s completely different. Another example of a more complicated situation is the UK parliament elections which can be quite confusing.

Other special betting markets

We already went through the most popular special bets you can find, but the bookies are willing to provide the opportunity to bet on almost anything. You can place a wager on the weather, the next Pope, the football transfers, the Royal Wedding, the Royal Baby name in 2018, the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, …

and all kinds of weird or funny stuff.

Even if a bookie is not offering a certain market, you could drop them a line. Chances are, the traders of the sportsbook will provide you the price and you will be able to place your bet.

Top 5 bookmakers for special betting

We decide to make this list of what we believe are the best bookmakers if you want to gamble on unusual events:

Paddy Power

The Irish giant is well-known for the countless crazy betting markets it offers. At some point, Paddy Power was offering price on Hollywood making a movie about Leicester’s forward Jamie Vardy. This is only one of the examples, but there are many more. Simply put, Paddy Power is probably the best place online if you are looking for extraordinary betting opportunities. Discover their specials offers and register with the promo code here.

William Hill

As a classic bookie with a long-standing reputation, William Hill has experience in offering all kinds of bets. After all, people have been betting on all kinds of stuff in the betting shops of the company. William Hill made sure to continue this tradition online and offers plenty of opportunities to bet on politics, TV shows, music awards, and much more.

Coral

Coral is another UK gambling giant that has its own selection of special bets. There is a whole category Non-sports on the betting platform of Coral. There, you will find various novelty bets that cover all kinds of stuff. Whether it’s an election day in any big European country, the latest “Dancing with the Stars” season, or something similar, Coral got it covered.

Betfred

The betting coupon of Betfred is not as wide as the other bookies we mentioned, but the company is probably the best on the markets when it comes to the United Kingdom, Every major election, TV Show, or event in any popular field is available. On top of that, Betfred has some juicy odds and a large list of markets on each.

Ladbrokes

Ladbrokes stands somewhere between Betfred and rest of the bookies on this list. The sportsbook has more UK markets than each of them except for Betfred. At the same time, it has more international markets compared to Betfred. It’s a balanced betting coupon that will give you enough opportunities to place a wager on special events from all over the globe.

Conclusion

While betting on special events could be fun, it’s probably not the best way to make money in the long run. We recommend you to stay away from these markets unless you are able to spot some immense value somehow. Even then, make sure you to prepare well and make a proper research before you invest money. This guide is a good starting point, but you will have to dig deep to be successful.

Last Update: May 2019