Sawt Falasteen - Eurovision triggers betting interest surge

"Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year," said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform.

Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world's biggest televised live music event.

But bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years -- and this year in particular.

"We've already passed 2023's total activity and we're not even at the final yet," Huttunen told AFP by email on Friday.

"If this trajectory holds, we're on track to see a record-breaking Eurovision in terms of betting volume."

On the OCS platform, "Eurovision ranks as the number one non-sporting event for betting -- and in some cases it's outperforming smaller sports competitions entirely".

- 'Reacting in real time' -

Sweden, represented by Finnish comedy act KAJ, has been pegged by bookmakers as the runaway favourite this year, putting Sweden on course to win a record-breaking eighth Eurovision.

Their quirky number "Bara Bada Bastu" about sweating it out in a sauna, is "already odds-on (10/11) to win, which is incredibly rare", Alex Apati, spokesman for the British Ladbrokes betting chain, told AFP.

OCS said its search data showed a 57 percent spike in betting-related searches just on Sweden.

Austria's JJ has meanwhile been gaining traction for his operatic ballad "Wasted Love", with his odds shortening to 9/4 and search volume increasing 44 percent over the past weekend, OCS said.

Bookmakers have France's Louane, with her ballad "Maman", in third position with a 10 percent shot at the title.

She is followed by "C'est la vie" by Claude of the Netherlands, and Finland's leather-clad Erika Vikman and her "Ich Komme" song about falling into the trance of lust.

Thursday's second semi-final, meanwhile, "definitely stirred things up", Huttunen said, pointing to "a noticeable spike in bets on Armenia" and also a "surge of interest in Ukraine".

"It's clear viewers are reacting in real time."

- 'Interesting angles' -

For Ladbrokes, the UK's act is "the most popular pick in our book in terms of bets placed", Apati said in an email.

"But at odds of 66/1, they're incredibly unlikely to win this year," he said.

"They're actually considerably more likely to finish with zero points (12/1), or in last place (3/1), than they are to win it."

The betting interest meanwhile spreads far beyond simply trying to pick the winner.

"There's a lot of interest in the top five," Apati said.

"This is because Sweden are priced so short, punters are looking for value elsewhere."

"When the favourites are heavily tipped, savvy betters start looking for more interesting angles," agreed Huttunen.

Bookmakers have received bets on anything from the top performer within a specific region, like the Baltics or Nordic countries, to the winning performance language.

The language aspect is particularly interesting, Huttunen said, "since it taps into the cultural and emotional side of Eurovision, especially as more countries embrace native-language entries again".

After Eurovision removed the requirement for countries to perform in their native languages from 1999, most acts began performing in English.

But there has been an increasing shift back towards native language songs, with this year's contest boasting artists performing in 20 different languages.

High volumes of bets on that and other aspects show a "depth of engagement (that) tells us that fans aren't just watching for entertainment", Huttunen said.

"Eurovision has evolved into an event that's every bit as dynamic as traditional sport and betters are treating it that way."

P.AbuBaker--SF-PST