You Can Bet On The Oscars And Some Legislators Aren’t Happy

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INDIANAPOLIS – You can bet on the Oscars at Indiana sportsbooks — and legislative leaders aren’t pleased.

When Indiana legalized sports betting last year, legislators left it to the Indiana Gaming Commission to decide which sports and leagues you can bet on. This week, Indiana became the second state to approve bets on the Oscars. New Jersey is the only other state to legalize Oscar betting — even Vegas doesn’t do it.

House Speaker Brian Bosma and Senate President Pro Tem Rod Bray both say they doubt legislators thought they were authorizing Oscar bets when they approved sports wagering last year. Bray says the vote would probably have been closer if legislators had known that was part of it. The sports wagering bill passed the Senate 37-12 and the House 59-36.

Apart from catching legislators off guard, Bray says allowing bets on the Oscars is a bad idea, since the PriceWaterhouseCoopers accountants who tabulate the ballots know before the envelopes are opened who the winners will be. He says the fact someone has advance inside knowledge creates the risk of manipulating the bets. The Gaming Commission reasoned that since that information is closely held, it’s an acceptable wager.

That logic of an event in which the outcome is unknown until it happens would appear to open the door to another non-sports wager: election results. Bray isn’t ruling out a bill this session to prohibit that before someone tries to pursue it.

House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta (D-Fort Wayne) says he’s not concerned by Oscar betting. He says Indiana needs to come to terms with its status as a gaming state. But he says election bets might pose a different issue — he says he’d have to give the issue more thought.

“1917” is the current frontrunner for Best Picture, surging past “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” in the last week after winning the Producers Guild award. Winners of that award have gone on to win Best Picture 70-percent of the time, including the last two years. But the biggest favorite on the betting lines is Joaquin Phoenix for Best Actor for “Joker.” As of Friday, you’d have to bet $333.50 at DraftKings to make a 10-dollar profit if he wins.

The biggest longshot wager is “Ford Vs. Ferrari.” A 10-dollar bet would win you two-thousand dollars if the auto-racing movie pulls a Best Picture upset.

Image by kalhh from Pixabay