‘Barbenheimer’ mania fuels US gambling on the Oscars
MNP – After a summer face-off at the box office, the “Barbenheimer” battle is headed to online gambling sites in the United States.
New Jersey, Massachusetts and five other states allow wagering on this Sunday’s Academy Awards, where “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” will compete for best picture and other honors.
Gamblers can put their money on top prizes such as best picture, actor or actress, or take a chance on lower-profile categories such as best sound or animated short.
The popularity of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” will likely translate to record sums bet on the Oscars, said Bill Speros, senior betting analyst at Bookies.com, a website owned by Gambling.com Group . Legal wagering on the film industry’s highest honors started in New Jersey in 2019.
This year “is the first opportunity for people to bet on two films, and stars from those films, that have had real mass appeal,” Speros said. “You have two movies that everybody’s seen.”
Gambling has been on the rise in the United States since 2018 when the Supreme Court cleared the way for sports betting to expand nationwide. State officials have embraced it as a way to boost tax revenue and keep people from illegal wagering, despite the risks to gamblers of financial losses.
While exact figures are not disclosed, last month’s Super Bowl was expected to draw $23 billion in wagers, according to a survey released by the American Gaming Association.
