Image source: Babak Fakhamzadeh, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Eurovision is a music-based competition which seeks out talented musicians throughout Europe and a couple of non-European countries. This competition is a treat for music enthusiasts. Not only can they enjoy the contest itself, but they can also indulge in some Eurovision betting. If you are not aware, these days you can bet on anything and everything. From politics to sports, everything is at the disposal of bettors. In case if this information makes you want to learn how to bet on Eurovision, you have come to the right place. This online betting guide for beginners will take you to step by step through the process of betting on the most popular music contest.
You can find bets on the Eurovision all year long at the 22BET Sportsbook
But first, let us develop an understanding of how the competition works.
How does Eurovision work?
Despite what the title portrays, Eurovision does not have delegate teams only from Europe. The teams vary from multiple parts of the world including Australia and Russia. Since the beginning of the competition in 1956, several countries have made their debut in the contest. Germany holds the record of participating in the competition the most. Talking about records, Ireland holds the record of having won the competition 7 times. However, it is also important to note that their last victory was in 1996.
Moving on from the brief history of Eurovision, let’s take a look at how the contest works. Each participating country will have an opportunity to select the musician/s who will represent their country in the competition. After the countries have announced their delegation the participants proceed to the semi-finals. Eurovision hosts two semi-finals. These two semi-finals determine the total number of participants who will perform in the finale. According to a set directive, 5 teams also known as the ‘Big Five’ automatically proceed to the finals along with the host country. These 5 countries are Germany, Spain, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom.
The two semi-finals pick 10 contests each from the total pool. Consequently, this makes the total number of finalists 26. In the final round, each delegation performs a song which broadcasts on air live. After all the performances are over, the process of voting begins. The voting procedure of voting takes place in two steps. Firstly, a jury of 5 judges from each participating country collectively votes for a delegation. The second set of votes comes from the public which can either make or break the contest. To make the entire process fair, the votes can not be cast for their own country. A winner is announced via live broadcast.
Eurovision odds and betting types
Most commonly, the odds which represent odds for entertainment betting follow the Moneyline format. Since, most entertainment bets are Hollywood, and directly related to America, it makes sense to use an American layout. However, since Eurovision belongs to the European region, the decimal system replaces Moneyline odds.
Decimal representation is the common form of odd configuration in this betting type. Instead of using the regular + and – signs, the odds are in a simple decimal arrangement. The lower the number, the higher the chances of winning the bet.
The bets which are available in the decimal format are mostly straight bets along with some special prop bets. Let’s take a look at some of them.
Straight bets
In entertainment betting, straight bets customarily align with the wagering on the winners. The odds in Eurovision straight bets lists a plethora of all the participating countries with the probability of them winning the glass microphone trophy. The bet normally reads ‘who will win Eurovision (insert year)’ and a trail of odds follows. Depending on what time the odds become available, they can include all contestants and not just the semi-finalists. When going ahead with this bet, it is tactical to wait for the eliminations of some teams. This method will lead you to bet on a smaller list which is always less confusing.
Special bets
The straight bets list is a rather compact one since there is only one award at the end of the contest. What makes betting on Eurovision invigorating are the special bets which are available alongside straight bets. Special bets are similar to prop bets which provide dramatic bets, to keep the bettors interested. These bets essentially run the gambling market for Eurovision due to their very enticing nature. Let’s take a look at some of the previous years’ special bets examples and how to bet on them.
Find the best online gambling bonuses on the Internet with BonusPirates
Will one of the big five win the final?
This is one of the most frequent special bets which come around each year. Since the big five are the countries where statistically most bets come from. Like previously mentioned, the big five are the pre-qualifiers who do not participate in semi-finals to receive a qualification. These countries are Italy, Germany, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The bet offers punters to wager on simple options of yes or no with the aid of the odds present.
There is no certain way to predict if one of the Big Five may emerge as the winner. However, unlike a straight bet, these special bets are best at proving to be entertaining, so use them as such. The winner of the 2019 Eurovision Duncan Lawrence belonged to semi-finalists instead of pre-qualifiers. This goes on to show that there is no bias towards the big five other than their privilege of pre-qualification.
Will a certain country receive a specific number of points?
These are the bets which may be harsh to read when going through an online sportsbook site. Receiving zero points? That sounds outrageous, right? Turns out it is actually true in some cases. Taking the example of Eurovision 2019 again, Germany was the only country throughout the contest to receive zero points from public votes. There is a trick to this bet as well. There are two sorts of betting, judges, and the public. While the wager may refer to any country scoring zero points it is still wise to double-check, if there is a condition behind this bet. In some cases, they could only be referring to either of the votes. While this may sound too tricky for a simple wager, it would not hurt to prepare for such incidents.
Even though it may seem like it is too vague to wager on a bet like this, it is important to keep in mind the trends that keep surfacing on social media. Following these trends is your best bet to make an informed decision when it comes to special bets.
Will the winning country be a semi-finalist?
Another similar special bet is to wager on whether the winning country will belong to the category of semi-finalists. Again, this is one of the two options to bet on considering these are the only ones available in Eurovision betting. While the Big Five certainly do make an impact on the pattern of winners, it is also important to stick to the trends once again. A certain advantage this bet offers is that it showcases the participants and their talent.
Semi-finals is a chance to encompass how strong a contestant appears. These performances are of original songs which is the true depiction of how gifted they are. Judging by the polls that start generating in the first two days, it becomes comparatively easier to determine who your future bet will be on.
Now comes the part to dissect the actual question of this online betting guide for beginners. After the announcement of Eurovision dates, each country starts preparing its performers. Once the majority of the delegations start finalizing their acts, bets start flooding the online sportsbook sites. This is the moment that you can start getting any idea of who the bookmakers are recommending as favorites. Of course, the odds are in no way the final verdict as they keep shuffling till the last moment. Hence, being patient is the key to success here. A delay in betting is a good choice since you will obtain most information as the contest progresses. However, another thing to keep in mind is the betting deadline. The bets close before the voting time ends. This is to ensure that no one bets after finding out who the winner is.
Considering multiple options
Secondly, keeping as many options on sportsbooks is also advised. Each sportsbook offers a different set of odds most of the time. Therefore, finding the best deal which makes more money on a bet is crucial in securing more profit. You can do this by simply checking the top sites which are offering odds on Eurovision. After locating these sites, comparing the odds on each of them for the same bet is the next step. Sometimes, different sites can offer better deals for each site. In this case, it is not necessary to stick to just one site. ‘Divide and conquer’ is the motto when you find yourself in such a situation.
Lastly, if you do not have an account on a website, just head on to any online sportsbook of choice and sign up. Online sportsbooks offer sign-up bonuses for new users. Just by signing up, you can easily avail any of these several benefits. You can then proceed to add funds to your account which you can utilize in placing Eurovision bets.
How to bet on Eurovision: Strategies
Well, now is the time to relay any key strategies we have for our readers. The number one strategy is to always have a well-managed bankroll. Overspending is one of the many problems gamblers face in the industry. A quick solution for this is to create a bankroll which you believe is more than enough for this endeavor. You can further divide this bankroll for each category upon which you wish to bet on. No one can compensate for your losses if you overhaul in a betting campaign. Hence, bankroll management is something every bettor should always remember and implement.
Just like any other betting type, entertainment betting does require a little bit of homework. Just placing a bet on a hunch or betting on your own country will not win you anything. Before heading on to a sportsbook, open google and search Eurovision trends. The trends will help you recognize who has the potential to win the Eurovision trophy. The trends fill social media platforms as soon as the participant’s list starts filling. So be sure to keep an eye on who’s Instagram is getting more followers. Who knows, that might just be your first hint on the new winner. After all, the public votes make a big difference in selecting the Eurovision winner.
When looking for trends, it does not only mean looking at who is currently popular. This also means to understand the previous trends set by previous year winners. This means looking at which gender has won the most of which country most consistently finishes in the top 5. After viewing these, you can very well comprehend the technicality of the bet’s correlation with the events. These are some of the key strategies to aid you in your next Eurovision bet.
Eurovision betting news
Anyone who has been following Eurovision religiously will know that since the inception of the show, 2020 was the first year it got canceled. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, the contest moved to 2021. Due to this, a manner of carryover is taking place, in which the contest will take place in 2021 with some of the 2020 details. The winner of the Eurovision contest gets to take the next competition to their home country. For 2020, Rotterdam, the Netherlands were the host after a spectacular win by Duncan Lawrence. The location of the contest remains unchanged with the preparations for Eurovision 2021 underway.
The pre-selected performers from each country did their best to put on a show during the actual broadcast of the original contest. The Eurovision site announced they will be returning with their selections for 2020 and will provide the audience with 41 countries taking part in the competition. If anything, Eurovision 2021 will surely be bigger than ever. So take your newly learned strategies on how to bet on Eurovision and put them to good use.
Click here to visit the 22BET Sportsbook
