Eric Uribe
It’s award season in the world of entertainment— and one of the biggest honors in the business is the Academy Awards, which acknowledge the best in a motion picture. The ceremony is on March 27, but the time to bet on the results is now! In this article, you’ll find the very best bets to make for the 2022 Oscar Awards!
Oscars 2022 Best Picture Betting Pick
The most-used online sportsbooks have the Best Picture category essentially as a three-way race — and every other nominee merely spectating. That’s worth knowing before making a Best Picture betting pick. Below you’ll find the up-to-date betting odds to win. However, we’ve decided to feature only the top betting candidates — not all 10 nominees, most of which don’t stand a chance.
| Movie |  |  |
| The Power of the Dog | -160 | -160 |
| Belfast | +250 | +250 |
| West Side Story | +275 | +275 |
| Licorice Pizza | +1300 | +1300 |
| Dune | +2000 | +2000 |
The academy — that is, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — who vote on the Oscars are notoriously snobby. It took them years to come around on Netflix as a distributor like traditional ones (Disney or Warner Bros, for example). That finally seemed to change in 2021 when the academy gave seven awards to Netflix on Oscar night (for comparison, they earned eight wins between 2013 and 2020). So the tide is turning, but has it changed enough to give them the mother of all awards, Best Picture?
That’s the question every bettor needs to ask themselves because the slight betting favorite, The Power of the Dog, is a Netflix production through and through. Can the academy get over their historical bias and vote in the Netflix production? It’s certainly plausible since The Power of the Dog earned a leading 12 nominations throughout all categories. In fact, it’s the only movie in contention for best directing, writing, and editing. Nominations in those categories are usually a precedent for winning Best Picture.
With the state of the movie theater business, traditional Hollywood needs Netflix more than ever now — whereas they didn’t as little as three years ago. Shutting them out of Best Picture doesn’t make sense anymore so yes, we’re taking The Power of the Dog. Winning this award is the last box for Netflix to check in their Hollywood takeover to-do list.
Oscars 2022 Best Actor Betting Pick
| Actor | | |
| Will Smith (King Richard) | -250 | -250 |
| Benedict Cumberbatch (The Power of the Dog) | +300 | +300 |
| Andrew Garfield (tick tick Boom) | +500 | +500 |
| Denzel Washington (The Tragedy of MacBeth) | +1100 | +1100 |
| Javier Bardem (Being the Ricardos) | +5000 | +5000 |
Out of all the betting odds and picks available, one of the most one-sided is the Best Actor category. For all intents and purposes, Will Smith is being penciled in as the award winner for his portrayal of Richard Williams — the father of tennis legends, Serena and Venus. However, his -250 betting line offers very little value to everyday bettors. So while we think Smith has a high of winning Best Actor, we will not be endorsing him as our betting pick.
Instead, we’re “banging the table” for a wager on Andrew Garfield. It’s not that we necessarily think Garfield outacted Smith in his respective movie performance, but the public perception of the British actor has picked up in the last few months. Garfield’s surprise appearance in the box-office phenomenon Spider-Man: No Way Home (we would say spoiler alert, but it’s all over the Internet already anyway) has boosted his likability big-time with general audiences. There’s a chance that rubs off on the academy, too.
Either way, we just love Garfield’s betting value at +500. That’s worth taking a flyer on given how much momentum is on Garfield’s side right now, and presumably, through award night. And at those steep odds, you don’t even have to wager much to earn a better-than-good payout if Garfield indeed pulls off the upset.
Oscars 2022 Best Actress Betting Pick
| Actress | | |
| Nicole Kidman (Lucy and Desi) | -110 | -110 |
| Kristen Stewart (Spencer) | +175 | +175 |
| Jessica Chastain (The Eyes of Tammy Faye) | +500 | +500 |
| Olivia Colman (The Lost Daughter) | +500 | +500 |
| Penelope Cruz (Paralell Mothers) | +1600 | +1600 |
Thus far, we’ve tried to keep our acting “tastes” out of our betting choices — however, can not do the same here. That’s because Kristen Stewart’s portrayal of Princess Diana, one of the most famous faces of the 20th century, was nothing short of spectacular. Her uncanny look to Diana Spencer, the mannerisms (shoulder shrug, anyone?), the emotions, it’s all on full display in the Spencer movie. It’s a must-see performance from Stewart and why she’s our Best Actress betting pick.
Stewart faces stiff competition from Nicole Kidman, who herself played another 20th-century culture figure, Lucille Ball from the TV show I Love Lucy. However, we just sense Stewart displayed more “range” in her respective performance. Spencer is a true emotional rollercoaster, which should give her the slightest of edges with the voters.
How To Bet On The 2022 Oscars?
Of course, Oscars’ night features a bevy of more awards than the three we covered above. To get a full list of 2022 Oscars bets and odds, you’ll want to pay a visit to one of the bookmakers listed underneath. Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, plus many more categories — it’s all completely bet-able at one of the bookies featured in the table.
While you’re at it, look into the bookmaker’s sign-up bonuses too. With these deals, you could earn hundreds to thousands of dollars in free play BEFORE you ever place a bet. That’s cold, hard cash you can use to quickly build up your betting bankroll. The table below has details on what bonuses are currently there for the taking!
