While Louisiana native John Foster has continued to progress in “American Idol,” which has its season finale Sunday on ABC, the Vegas-style oddsmakers still don’t love his chances of winning season 23 of the show.
BetUS.com.pa, a privately held online gambling company, is offering sportsbook-style odds on the show’s winner, and that oddsmaker lists Jamal Roberts as the heavy favorite at -300 odds. That’s equivalent to 3-to-1 odds against him winning and implies a 75% probability he’ll be the champion.
For example, you’d have to wager $3 on Roberts just to profit $1.
Foster, an Addis native, is the second choice at +200 odds, an implied probability of about 28.5%. The third finalist, Breanna Nix, has +350 odds — a 22.2% implied chance.
The implied probabilities equal more than 100% because of the rake the oddsmaker takes.
None of this means Foster can’t win, of course. The favorite in each of the past two iterations of BetUS.com odds was eliminated on the next episode.
Sports-style odds on entertainment events aren’t uncommon. Most sportsbooks offer odds on the Academy Awards, for instance — although certain markets can be hard to find, and bet limits are typically lower than they are for sports. They’re also more common with offshore casinos.
BetUS, the only operator offering “American Idol” odds, is based in Costa Rica. While it is legal to use in the United States, bettors should proceed with caution, as BetUS is not subject to the same regulations as legal domestic casinos like Caesars, DraftKings or FanDuel.
While voting has nothing to do with betting, people can vote for Foster up to 30 times — only during Sunday’s live show (from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.) to help Foster win American Idol.
- Text 13 to 21523 (up to 10 times)
- Vote at americanidol.com (up to 10 times)
- Vote on the American Idol app (up to 10 times).
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