How to Bet on the Oscars: Oscars Betting Sites, Legal States and Betting Guide 2025

Top Oscars betting sites

If you live in the United States, then it is only legal to bet on the Oscars at one of the best sportsbooks in seven states: Arizona, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Indiana, Kansas, and Louisiana. Here's how it works.

DraftKings

If you are in Arizona, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, or New Jersey, then you can wager on the Oscars at DraftKings. Best of all, you can claim a bet $5, get $150 welcome offer for your first Oscars bet. The welcome bonus will be administered whether your first bet wins or loses.

Betting sites in Canada (N/A ON)

For those in Canada, not including Ontario, bet365 offers Oscars betting.

Choosing an Academy Awards betting site

If you're looking for where to bet on the Oscars, then we've got you covered. When it comes to picking the best Oscars betting sites, there are numerous things to take into account. Below, we dive into what we believe are the most important factors.

Oscars betting availability

You can use the DraftKings promo code, FanDuel promo code, BetMGM promo code, Caesars promo code, and bet365 promo code to get the best Oscars odds in the US. However, these sportsbooks are only available in seven states, which means that most bettors won't have the opportunity to place wagers at them.

Oscars betting markets

Variety is key when it comes to Oscars betting, and all of the legal options offer plenty. The four major sportsbooks that offer Oscars odds each offer odds in all 23 categories. They even offer some Oscars prop bets.

The sportsbooks offer odds that are typical for sporting events. For example, "Anora" had Best Picture odds of -200 at FanDuel leading up to the 2025 ceremony. This means you'd have to wager $200 to win $100. 

Payout speeds

After you win, you want to make sure you're paid out promptly. The best sportsbooks all have reliable and timely payout options. If one of your predictions is correct, then you'll have no problem cashing out and receiving your winnings shortly thereafter.

User interface

You want to be comfortable with the user interface you're using to place Oscars bets. While many sports fans will be familiar with the interfaces of DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and bet365, that may not be true if you're new to online betting in general. Thankfully, most app interfaces are super easy to learn, and the search function makes it convenient to find exactly what you're looking for.

Legal states for betting on the Oscars

Most major sportsbooks will let you see Best Picture odds, Best Actor odds, Best Actress odds, and more, no matter what state you're in. However, only seven states currently let you place bets on the Oscars using one of these books.

Legal US sportsbooks

• Arizona sportsbook promos
• Indiana sportsbook promos
• Kansas sportsbook promos
• Louisiana sportsbook promos
• Massachusetts sportsbook promos
• Michigan sportsbook promos
• New Jersey sportsbook promos

Types of Oscars bets

The two main types of Oscars bets are picking a winner and prop bets. We dive into both below.

Oscars betting markets

Picking a winner for the Oscars may seem easy, but upsets do happen from time to time. At the 78th Academy Awards "Crash" defeated "Brokeback Mountain" despite the latter winning every precursor and looking like a shoo-in to claim victory. 

If you think you have a read on a category as wide-open as Best Live Action Short, or you're convinced that an upset is brewing in Best Actress or Best Actor, then you can place a wager on your preferred pick to win.

Familiarize yourself with all the nominees with our Oscars ballots.

Oscars prop bets

In addition to picking a winner, you can wager on Oscars prop bets. This can include categories such as "Which movie will win the most Oscars", "How many Oscars will ____ win?", and more. These props tend to have better payouts than the bigger Oscars categories, so doing your research could result in big wins.

Academy Awards betting trends

Sometimes the best way to predict the future is to look at the past. Since 2017, six of the seven Best Picture winners also won the Producer of the Year Award for Best Theatrical Motion Picture at the PGA Awards. This year's winner was "Anora", so perhaps that means good things for the film.

The DGA Awards have been even more accurate when it comes to predicting the Best Director Oscar. Since 2003, 19 of the 21 directors to win the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film award went on to win Best Director. Sean Baker won the award for "Anora" this year.

The guild that has proven to be the least predictive is the Screen Actors Guild. Three of the last six SAG winners for Best Actress lost at the Oscars, including last year's winner Lily Gladstone. So perhaps Demi Moore hasn't officially taken the Oscar from Mikey Madison this year.

That said, the last eight Supporting Actor winners have also won the SAG award, and it would be shocking to see Kieran Culkin lose this year. For Supporting Actress, 14 of the last 15 winners also won the SAG, so Zoe Saldana is looking very good entering Oscar Sunday. six of the last seven Best Actor winners also won the SAG. The only one who didn't was Anthony Hopkins in "The Father."

Oscars betting strategies

Oscar betting strategies vary from person to person. Since the Oscars are voted on, rather than a sporting event where winners are determined by play on the field, their is bound to be plenty of subjectivity involved in picking winners. Don't let your own subjectivity cloud your judgment when betting. Here are some of our best Oscars betting tips.

Watch the movies

You don't need to watch all the movies to have an idea of what is going to win, but you should have an understanding of what movies are up for Oscars in what categories. However, if you fall in love or end up detesting a certain movie, you may find your feelings getting in the way of a well-researched bet. Just like you shouldn't always bet on your favorite sports team, don't just vote on your favorite movie.

Understand the categories

There was a time when the Oscars awarded both Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing. Those two categories have been combined into one category (Best Sound), but there is still some confusion regarding certain categories. Make sure you understand the difference between best Visual Effects and Production Design before placing a vote on either. The same goes for Best Makeup & Hairstyling and Best Costume Design.

Track during awards season

There are so many awards given out during award season, so it can be difficult to know which movie truly has an advantage. The key is learning which awards are actually important and good predictors of what's to come. For example, since 2004, 19 of the 21 Actors who won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Lead Actor went on to win the Oscar for Best Actor. The Directors Guild of America is just as predictive, as 10 of the last 11 to win Best Director at the DGA went on to win Best Director at the Oscars.

Follow the news

Tabloids have their own agendas, but their is a lot to be gained from understanding the news. For example, Emilia Perez leads the Oscars with 13 nominations, but bad press, especially surrounding lead actress Karla Sofia Gascon, have all but tanked the film's chances in most categories. Additionally, Adrien Brody and The Brutalist have come under fire for AI usage. These types of things matter when votes are being cast.

Oscars betting odds 2026

Ahead of the start of awards season, we take a look at the early odds for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress for the 2026 Oscars. Academy Award nominations will be announced on January 22, 2026, with the ceremony set for March 15.

(Odds as of Oct. 21st, 2025)

Best Picture odds

One Battle After Another holds the shortest odds to win the Academy Awards' top prize this year ahead of the start of awards season.

Best Director odds

Paul Thomas Anderson is the early favorite to pick up his first Academy Award this year, leading a pack that includes 2021 Best Director winner Chloé Zhao.

Best Actor odds

The Best Actor race this year will likely come down to a supreme battle between Timothee Chalamet, chasing his first Oscar for his performance in Marty Supreme, and Leonardo DiCaprio for his role in One Battle After Another. Another to watch: will Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson get his first Academy Award nomination for his performance in Benny Safdie's The Smashing Machine?

Best Actress odds

Jessie Buckley enters awards season as the favorite to take home her first Oscar, trailed by three would-be first-time nominees, and three-time nominee Cynthia Erivo.