American Idol Season 7 Betting

American Idol Season 7 starts January 15 and that means American Idol betting season will soon be in full swing.  For starters, one can bet on what sex will win American Idol Season 7.  The male pays even odds early on at Sportsbook.com.  The female is more of a risk at 5/7 odds.

The American Idol betting season gets quite frenzied once the top 24 finalists are determined.  At that time online gambling websites begin offering betting odds on individual weekly eliminations and updated odds to win.

"It is the biggest entertainment betting phenomenon in the world," explains Payton O'Brien, Gambling911.com Senior Editor who has witnessed three seasons of utter wagering mayhem on both winners and weekly eliminations.  "Millions of dollars will be bet on the show this season," she estimated.

Last season, Bookmaker.com paid out unprecedented amounts of money to gamblers who bet large underdogs to be eliminated during certain weeks.

"Season 6 was about as unpredictable as they come, especially with the Sanjaya Malakar factor.  We were seeing payouts up to $10 for every $1 bet made during a few of the elimination weeks."

Mickey Richardson, CEO of Bookmaker.com, has been spending countless numbers of hours during the off season brushing up on his American Idol trends data to share with all company oddsmakers, who will then endure rigorous training on the subject matter.  American Idol incorporates the same type of statistical, news data and trend analyses as betting on sports and politics. 

Gambling911.com is the largest website focusing on American Idol betting with wagers placed in more than 2000 countries worldwide.  This promises to be the biggest season yet thanks heavily to the writer's strike.

Nigel Lythgoe told the Associated Press: "American Idol" has reached a plateau in the ratings, down only 1 percent from 2006 (30.7 million average viewers) to 2007 (30.4 million). The finale with winner Jordin Sparks was seen by 31.2 million, according to Nielsen Media Research.

That fell below the 2006 season-ender, which drew 36.6 million viewers watching Taylor Hicks claim the title in an unpredictable matchup with Katharine McPhee.

Lythgoe acknowledged that the show suffered last year when finalists failed to top the excitement and star quality of performers from previous seasons; on the other hand, he said producers erred by giving too much air time to famous mentors like Jennifer Lopez with individual projects to promote rather than delving deep into contestants' back stories to foster a stronger connection with viewers.

"We felt as though we made mistakes last year with not really pushing and introducing the talent as well as we have done in the past," he said. "In the past, we knew about (season five also-ran) Kellie Pickler. We knew about her dad going to prison. We knew about her mom leaving (the country singer when she was a toddler)."

The new season kicks off with two-hour episodes airing 8-10 p.m. EST Tuesday and Wednesday and featuring auditions in Philadelphia and Dallas, respectively. Another tweak: "Idol" wannabes were allowed to play instruments during tryouts.

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Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher CCostigan@CostiganMedia.com

Originally published January 15, 2008 6:10 pm EST