A Simple Strategy For Betting On The 71st Primetime Emmy Awards

The 71st annual Primetime Emmy Awards are set for Sunday, September 22, to honor the highest quality of television viewing by rewarding shows that aired between June 1, 2018, and May 31, 2019. That period gave way to some remarkable broadcasts and bettors should be keeping a close eye on the betting odds.

Online sportsbook Bovada has come out of the gate with some early betting odds for the Emmy Awards and Game of Thrones is in the thick of it. The fantasy epic leads all TV shows with 14 nominations and has 10 nominations in the 10 major props listed below.

Instead of recapping each show and explaining why it’s a favorite, we’re going to take a different approach to betting on the Emmys in 2019.

Check out my strategy below:

Don’t Bet on the Favorites

For this betting exercise, we are going to limit this strategy to only the 10 major categories listed below: 

Nearly every one of these categories above has an odds-on favorite like Game of Thrones at -500 for Outstanding Drama Series or Sandra Oh for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series at -250. What I’m suggesting is you take the next option on the odds list or the first option with plus-money. For example, in the Outstanding Drama Series, Killing Eve is the next betting option at +500.

True Value Is On Top Dogs

Why I’m suggesting to bet this way is simple: it was a highly profitable endeavor in 2018 at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards. I think this position/strategy will pay dividends for the 2019 edition and here’s why:

- In the 10 major categories listed above during last year’s Emmys, underdogs cashed in seven of them. Of the seven underdogs that won awards, six of those were the second selection on the oddsboard, or the “top dog” as we call them in the industry.

Last year in the Outstanding Comedy Series category, Atlanta was a -150 favorite to win the award but it was actually The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel that took the statue as a +135 underdog. Sticking with Atlanta, Donald Glover was a massive favorite to win Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series at -400. The eventual winner was Bill Hader at +300 with his HBO show Barry.

- If you had employed the strategy I’m detailing at the 2018 Emmy Awards, you’d have been up 23 units or $2,300 in profit based on $100 bets on each category. Pretty impressive, right?

The only category where bettors should exercise caution is Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, which went to Julia Louis-Dreyfus for Veep each year from 2012 to 2017. Her odds to win again are currently at -400. It’s also worth mentioning Veep won the award for Outstanding Comedy Series from 2015 to 2017 and is currently at +125 odds to win this year.

Here is the current list of 2019 Primetime Emmy Award betting odds:

The Major Categories

Best Of The Rest