How to Bet on MTV VMAs for Dummies

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The MTV Video Music Awards may have lost the charisma that it once had and may no longer be the TV rating kings it was several years ago, but the award show still generates ridiculous amounts of hype globally. There have been numerous unforgettable moments that MTV VMAs have gifted the fans over the years. How can one forget the time when Kanye West got up on the stage to interrupt Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech. Dating back to the early VMAs in 1984, Madonna sang ‘Like A Virgin’ while writhing around on the ground in a wedding dress. In 2000, Rage Against the Machine bassist Time Commerford protested Limp Bizkit’s victory in the Best Rock Video category by climbing the scaffolding on stage during Fred Durst’s acceptance speech. For these and many more reasons, how to bet on MTV VMAs should be your next priority.

Given its long history of unforgettable moments, you can never know what the next VMAs will have in store for the fans. This is basically what makes MTV VMAs such a fun event for the bettors too. Some of the best gambling sites still offer odds on the MTV VMAs, with bets varying from straight bets on the eventual winners to prop bets. What follows is an online betting guide for beginners on how to bet on MTV VMAs.

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How MTV VMAs work?

MTV VMAs are as popular as the Grammys in the music industry. The major difference in the award is due to the fact that VMAs offer tribute to music videos exclusively. The award is in the shape of an astronaut with a flag, depicting the moon landing. This feature gained the award the name of “Moonman” initially. However, in the later years, the name in affiliation changed to “Moon Person” on the recommendation of the President of MTV, Chris McCarthy.

The award show is infamous for notable moments since its inception. Like the aforementioned instances, there have been several acts by celebrities that made the headlines in entertainment news. The ceremony hosts have had some trouble dealing with these instances.

The show contains live performances by notable names in the music industry. These performances are also sometimes compared to the Superbowl shows. This is a huge honor for any award show to receive since Superbowl halftime performances are already a major spectacle in the business.

The MTV VMAs take place in prominent cities throughout the United States of America. Of course, making it to Hollywood is an American dream which is why the award show has to be spectacular indeed.

What time of the year can you bet on MTV VMAs?

Unlike most awards shows, the VMAs typically take place in the late summer or early fall. The 2019 VMAs went down on August 26, with nominations being released a month prior. You can always guess as to which artists will eventually be nominated beforehand, but the sites won’t release their VMA odds until nominations are formally announced.

In most cases, you’ll have about a month before the show actually airs to get your bets in on the VMAs. There is no in-play betting for awards shows.

Types Of MTV VMAS Bets

Understanding the different types of bets is essential to your how to bet on MTV VMAs experience. As is the case with all awards shows, the most popular way to bet on the VMAs online is to place an outright bet on the winners of various categories. Sites will offer VMA betting odds on categories like Song of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Video of the Year. Take the 2019 nominees for Artist of the Year as an example.

Artist of the Year

Artist of the Year is the pinnacle award in the ceremony. Every artist dreams to hold the astronaut trophy just to be a part of the legendary line of previous award winners. The odds are available for any leading artist in the past year who have made it to the top of the billboard. In recent years, we have seen several upcoming artists to be included in the category. Here is an example of the nominees from 2018 for the Artist of the Year.

Ariana Grande (+110)
Billie Eilish (+250)
Jonas Brothers (+300)
Cardi B (+500)
Shawn Mendes (+500)
Halsey (+1000)

The representation of these odds is in the Moneyline format which is the most popular in America. Moneyline odds represent an award with a negative or a positive sign which shows which nominee is the favorite or an underdog. The lower the number, the more probability of that certain musician winning the award.

Best New Artist

Another category that receives much anticipation in the Best New Artist award. As the name suggests, this is reserved for an artist who has recently made a debut in the music industry. Names like Billie Eilish were all the rage since her debut album “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” made it to the top of the billboards. Consequently, Eilish took home the award in 2019. To many, this was very predictable since Eilish is a very talented individual at such a young age.

The category does not always contain a lot of names like the recent 2020 awards only had 3 names. These instances make it easier to place a bet since there is less room for confusion. Hence, keeping the Best New Artist category in your wagering list is a good idea.

Video of the Year

MTV VMAs is perhaps the only award that has seen conflict over this category. Yes, you are right if you are thinking about the infamous Kanye vs Swift brawl. Despite what many people think, The Video of the Year award does not go to who deserves it but who mostly gathers the most views on relevant platforms. You may not want to admit it but Taylor Swift does have more fan following than Beyonce. Sorry Kanye.

This in itself is a betting tip, taking a quick glance at which nominee is leading on Youtube or other video platforms; makes it certainly clear who will take the award home. Naturally, this does not mean the highest viewed video will win the award. It simply means that conferring with both the odds and views can be a way to conclude the wager placement.

Song of the Year

This is where the award show takes resemblance to the Grammys. Despite the very particular name, the award show does cater to the music awards other than videos. The Song of the Year award goes to the artist who manages to produce the most incredible song. This is a very debatable topic since music itself is Art which is relative to each individual. Therefore, sticking to your favorite song, when placing a bet on Song of the Year, maybe a mistake.

Again, in such cases, the leading songs on most playlists are a better way to narrow down your choices. Unlike the Best New Artist category, the nominees in this list are always rather long. In 2020, the list had 6 entries out of which “Circles” by Post Malone made the cut. Pretty sure this song was on most people’s Spotify.

Another speculation regarding this category is which genre is most likely to win. Many suggest that Pop has always been a favorite when it comes to Song of the Year. So look out for all the Pop songs when making a wager, it might just be the one to win you money.

Best Collaboration

Many of us are a fan of celebrities collaborating. Some of these collaborations have given us some wonderful couples as an outcome; such as Shawn Mendes and Camilla Cabello over Senorita. MTV VMAs celebrate such unions in the form of Best Collaboration awards. In most cases, the odds available for this category are right on point. This is solely based on the perception of the audience of each collaboration.

It may also be wise to consider the popularity of each artist before voting. It may be a harsh set of directions, but this is the true nature of showbiz. The most popular duo to come out in 2020 were Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande. Of course, these are big names and to no one’s surprise received the best odds.

Best Music Video Genre-based

VMAs further break down the category of Best Music Video award according to their genres. In truth, this is all the work of the genius directors, art directors, and concept people to bring us incredible videos. Many appreciate this break down which means the awards are more inclusive towards different ethnicities as well. For instance, Best Latin Music Video and Best Hip Hop Music Videos include the Latin and black people in the award show.

Some nominees can appear in the same category more than once which is what makes it all the more interesting. Online sportsbook sites offer all of these bets which is unlikely for most award shows. Only the top ones are likely to appear in most cases. This is why considering these genre-based bets is a wise choice. They seem predictable than the prominent bets due to a more elaborate division.

Prop bets

You can also usually find a variety of prop bets available at MTV VMAs betting sites. Miscellaneous aspects of the show like whether Lady Gaga will bring a date or whether Ariana Grande will cry on stage are a couple of examples of the silly bets you can actually make. The prop bets make the VMA experience all the more fun due to the very nature of the show.

There is always a chance of someone creating a scandal. The main question is who will it be in the upcoming VMAs. For many reasons, this is the bet you should always focus on. prop bets do not offer the usual betting list. Instead, they go for a more simplistic format of a yes or a no. A limited number of betting options is always a safer choice. Statistically, it gives you a 50% chance to bet on the right option.

Betting Tips For MTV VMAS

The following are some betting tips on how to bet on MTV VMAs.

Shop for VMA Betting Lines. VMA betting Line shopping is one of the most important attributes that separates good online bettors from great ones. As a bettor, you should be looking for any possible edge you can find. In order to do so, you need to master the art of line shopping. If you take the time to search around at a few different sites, you will almost surely find discrepancies in the VMA odds.

This is especially true for something as subjective as awards shows. One real money entertainment betting site may have Bruno Mars as a minus-money favorite to win a certain category, while another site has him at plus-money for the same award. Because not all sites may view the VMAs through the same lens, you can potentially inflate your winnings quite a bit if you shop for different lines.

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Looking at the precedent set by other music awards shows

Grammy Results Can Be Helpful. Obviously, quite a bit of time elapses between the Grammys in January and the VMAs in August. Things can change between the two shows, but the artists that clean up at the Grammys usually farewell at the VMAs, too. If we use the 2020 Grammys as an example, we shouldn’t be surprised to see artists like Lizzo, Billie Eilish, and Gary Clark Jr. earn nominations across their various genres later in the year.

Look for betting values. Picking winners is only part of the equation. To really master the process, you have to learn how to read MTV VMAs odds. What you’re looking for are wagers paying out more than they should. There may be times you find a bet you want to make, but the payout is not good enough to account for the risk of losing so you might not want to place it.

Keep your head in the game

Don’t follow your heart. Betting on the MTV VMAs is the one time in life where it’s good advice not to follow your heart. You see, it can be tempting to bet on the singers, bands, and videos that you liked the most. While this feels great and like you’re supporting your favorites, it’s a bad recipe for winning wagers. Place your bets based on what you think the general public is going to vote. You may even be able to go back to past years to get an idea of what could happen this year!

Understand the voting process. When you’re picking winners for other awards shows, you have to get into the minds of the committee. Generally, this means really stepping outside of your comfort zone to try and get a grip on what they’re thinking. With MTV VMAs betting sites, it’s all about the public. What is the general public feeling? By understanding the voting process, you can improve your chances of success in betting on the MTV VMAs.