Unibet
A major player in sports betting across Europe, Unibet was originally founded in 1997 and launched online in 2000.
- Competitive odds
- Quality coverage of European specials/novelty bets
- Quality website and app
Bottom Line
Unibet cover novelty events in the UK and throughout Europe.
What we like about Unibet
Unibet offer competitive odds and cover a wide range of countries in detail, especially in Europe. They are one of the best novelty betting sites in the UK.
What Unibet offers you
- Superb European coverage: Unibet cover the UK and the global market superbly, with excellent range and depth in Europe. If you want to bet on the Queen of Denmark’s Christmas message then this is the site for you.
- Early outright markets: Outright odds are released well in advance at Unibet, especially for big award ceremonies.
- Competitive odds: Unibet consistently offer competitive odds and this runs true for TV show and special/novelty betting.
- Great website and app: Unibet have a superb website and app, making it a user friendly experience. Punters have access to stats and other info where necessary.
BetUK
BetUK is a very prominent UK sportsbook with a wide variety of sports markets. They offer great coverage of TV shows and other specials.
- Best Odds for EPL
- Best Odds for UCL
- Competitive odds
- Early Glastonbury outrights
- Quality website and app
Bottom line
BetUK continue to develop as a great allround bookmaker and they are one of the best novelty betting sites in the UK. They cover entertainment really well, especially music.
Why we like BetUK
BetUK offer odds on all major awards ceremonies and TV shows, however, they are very quick off the mark with music, offering early odds on which acts will be headlining at Glastonbury.
What BetUK offers you
- Great range of TV and Specials markets: BetUK offer range and depth to their coverage of TV shows, entertainment, specials and novelty events.
- Music markets: For early odds on headlining acts at Glastonbury, BetUK are a go-to website.
- Competitive odds: BetUK offer good value odds for TV show and special/novelty betting.
- Great website and app: BetUK have a user friendly website and when in-play betting is needed for TV shows they are up with the best.
Ladbrokes
Ladbrokes are a well established name in British betting of UK and as you would expect cover virtually every top event going within TV, entertainment and other special and novelty events.
- Good outright odds
- Great coverage of award ceremony betting
- Great range of specials
Bottom line
With a great range of entertainment and novelty events along with good value outright prices, Ladbrokes are one of the best TV show and specials betting sites in the UK.
Why we like Ladbrokes
Ladbrokes offer good value outright odds on all TV, entertainment, special events and novelty markets. The range of betting opportunities is most impressive and they are a solid, reliable name within the UK gambling industry. They have a special Christmas betting section, including the Christmas Number One and the chances of a White Christmas.
What Ladbrokes offer you
- Great range of TV and Specials markets: Ladbrokes provide a great range of betting opportunities on TV shows, entertainment, specials and novelty events.
- Sports specials: Ladbrokes excel for bets which are linked to sports rather than on actual sports performance, such as managers leaving/being sacked and transfers.
- Award ceremonies: Award ceremonies such as the Oscars, the Grammys and the BBC SPOTY are covered really well by Ladbrokes.
- Competitive outright odds: Ladbrokes offer good value odds for TV show and special/novelty betting across a large range of events.
- Solid reputation: Ladbrokes are a hugely trustworthy and well established company.
BetVictor
A veteran of the industry, BetVictor has been taking bets since 1946 and moved online at the turn of the century and are a great all round online bookmaker.
Bottom line:
BetVictor has a great service for punters with highly competitive odds and excellent customer support.
Why we like BetVictor
Using the BetVictor website or app is a relaxed experience with its professional design and simplistic layout.
What BetVictor offers you
- Good value odds: You will often find BetVictor have competitive odds..
- Helpful support system: With options on how to contact BetVictor, you will generally find they are very helpful with addressing whatever issue you may have. Their live chat is excellent.
- Great app: BetVictor has a user friendly app and a great website. The bookie offers a fantastic betting platform whether on the app or the website.
- Strong reputation: Established just after the Second World War, BetVictor has a long-standing reputation as one of the best betting sites.
Planet Sport Bet
Planet Sport are a familiar name to sports fans as a leading name in the media. They have branched out into sports betting with their betting website, Planet Sport Bet.
Bottom line:
Planet Sport Bet have ACCA bonuses, solid odds, loyalty club and a great website and app.
Why we like Planet Sport Bet
Using the Planet Sport Bet website or app is a relaxed experience and punters can benefit from their ACCA Bonuses and loyalty club,
What Planet Sport Bet offers you
- Great app: Planet Sport Bet have a user friendly app and a great website. The bookie offers a fantastic betting platform whether on the app or the website.
- Accumulator Bonus:Planet Bet Sport offer a 50% bonus on accas. Place a £5+ all correct accumulator (Min. 5 selections) on sports and get up to a 50% bonus on your winnings.
- Cash out available: The bookie offers cash out on selected events
- Great in-play section
- Loyalty Club: Rewards for regular punters
Check out the best betting sites in the UK with Betting.com.
How our experts choose the best sites to bet on novelty events, TV and specials
Bettors need to search around and take in a lot of information before selecting their preferred option among tv and specials betting sites. You want a bookmaker you can trust, first and foremost. You also want somewhere which has a decent selection of promos.
Chris Sampson: In my opinion, the best novelty betting sites will have a variety of betting opportunities, for both popular events and tv shows and more niche events, and will have outright odds available as early as possible. I would like to see competitive odds and, where possible, live betting.
Compare the best novelty betting sites
All major bookies are offering odds for TV shows and specials. The amount of entertainment and novelty events available to bet on is constantly increasing. As a result, there are a lot of sites to choose between when trying to narrow down a list of the best novelty, TV and specials betting sites in the UK for 2024.
To aid with comparing these bookmakers, here is a table of the platforms we have identified as the top novelty online betting sites:
| Site Name | Betting.com Rating | Best For | Full Review |
| bet365 | 4.8/5 | Range of markets | Review |
| Unibet | 4.6/5 | European specials markets | Review |
| BetUK | 4.5/5 | Music betting | Review |
| Ladbrokes | 4.5/5 | Outright odds | Review |
| BetVictor | 4.5/5 | Website and app | Review |
| Planet Sport Bet | 4.4/5 | Loyalty Club | Review |
How to choose the best site for you
We have searched all over the internet to weigh up pros and cons of the best novelty betting sites. It is, however, a personal decision when choosing your bookmaker. You will want to look through a few of the options for yourself before landing on a preferred site.
So, to make that step a bit smoother, we have identified seven key criteria when choosing your site:
- Read up on licences: All punters want to make sure their financial details and personal data are safe. The only way to guarantee this is by playing with a licensed bookmaker. A Google search should help you find a bookie’s licences and it will be visible on their website.
- Learn about welcome offers: Welcome offers can seem similar. You will soon find they vary significantly, though, and it is useful to make sure you sign up at a bookmaker with a welcome promo which suits your betting habits.
- Search for the novelty betting odds: It is worth having a look at a bookie’s novelty, TV and Specials odds to make sure they provide the markets you are interested in. The name of this section will vary, some bookies call it TV and Specials, others Specials, others Novelty, some Entertainment and others use various combinations of all of these.
- Check the payment options: The available payment options can vary from bookie to bookie. The more payment methods available, the more flexibility you have when it comes to withdrawing and depositing.
- Find out what others think: Reviews are a good way to get an idea of a bookmaker’s reputation. If others are happy with their experience, it’s generally a good sign.
- Download the app: Being able to bet on the go is useful. Download the app on your preferred device and see what you make of it.
- Sign up: After checking all the boxes, it’s time to sign-up and figure out if this is the right betting site for you.
Betting on novelty events explained
Novelty betting is a very modern part of the gambling industry. Its explosion in popularity has come about as a result of the rise of online betting, giving us access to more betting markets than ever before. The increase in TV channels and the rise of reality TV is also a contributory factor.
In the 20th Century there were occasional novelty bets available, such as, for example, betting on a white Christmas. Punters would approach bookmakers to give them odds on the occurrence of a specific event. This was not an area bookies tended to focus on and prices were often not of the greatest value.
Possibly the first high profile novelty bet was placed in 1989 when a punter placed a wager on several events happening before the turn of the millennium, including Cliff Richard being knighted, U2 to still be together and Aussie soaps Neighbours and Home and Away to still be on UK TV.
Now you can find these types of bets with almost every bookie in the world. The name used varies, some calling them TV and Specials, some TV and Novelties and others use different combinations of these and various other similar titles.Some markets attract millions of pounds in wagers. These bets tend to be seen as a fun type of bet and less serious than sports betting.
Odds
Odds are available throughout the year, with the best novelty betting sites being very prompt with their outright odds for events such as the Oscars. Specials bets are no different to most other sports bets, all you are doing is predicting an outcome or an event to happen and this means most single and multiple bet types can be applied. The lines are, however, more limited than for most major sports markets.
Picks
Like with sports betting, punters will be able to do their research before making their picks
Types of TV and Specials bets
The most common types of wagers on novelty events, TV and specials are listed below.
Winner
The majority of these types of bets are outright bets on the outcome of an event before it starts.
Result of votes
In TV shows such as Big Brother, I’m A Celebrity and Strictly, the public vote to decide which contestant should leave the show at various intervals.
Win, place, each-way bets
Win and place betting is suitable for specials betting. Many TV competitions involve competitors being eliminated and this means many bookies will give a number of places on outright winners. The each way price is relative to the win price and so these wagers can offer decent value. Remember to check the number of places given and the odds of a place when looking into this.
TV and Specials betting strategies
As with sports betting, take you time to work out your betting strategy for TV and Specials bets. Look at any stats available and weigh up your options.
Popular novelty events to bet on
There are a huge number of betting opportunities available for TV and Specials. Here are some of the biggest novelty events to bet on:
- TV Shows: Most betting on television shows is based around knockout competitions such as reality shows and cooking shows but it can also involve betting on events to happen in other shows, such as a character to be killed off in a soap opera. Whilst most lines focus around the outright winner there are a wide range of possible markets, from the gender of the winner, winning coach or judge, highest points, lowest points, next eviction etc. It is also common to bet on things like who will be the next host of popular shows.
Popular TV Shows to bet on include: Strictly Come Dancing, Big Brother, I’m a Celebrity, Love Island and X Factor.
- Music: Bet on anything from the winner of the Eurovision song contest to the Grammys album, song or record of the year. You can punt on who will headline at Glastonbury or Reading.
- Weather: Very popular in the UK given the nation’s reputed obsession with the weather. The most popular bet with the weather tends to be on whether it will snow on Christmas Day.
- Royal Family: Betting on the Royal Family has become something of a tradition for many British punters. Markets include royal babies, royal weddings, coronations, and fashion choices. There are other celebrity markets such as this available.
- Films: Bets on films are available. Betting on the next James Bond is a popular market.
- Award ceremonies: Odds are available for awards ceremonies, ranging from the Oscars, the Grammy’s, the Emmy’s, BBC SPOTY and the Booker Prize.
Check out the best betting sites in the UK with Betting.com.
