HeelByNature.com is reader-supported. When you click on links or make purchases through our site, we or our affiliated partners may earn a commission. Additionally, our site features Sponsored Content, which helps us maintain and operate the website.
The ultimate guide to WWE betting
It doesn’t matter if you always root for the face or the heel, sometimes you feel like you want to put a bit of money where your mouth is. Betting on WWE is a fun way to get slightly more involved, especially if you don’t have ringside seats.
Though it is still a new industry, sports betting in the United States is growing rapidly. It seems like every few months another state legalizes in-person sports betting or expands their regulations to include online sports betting.
The betting rules, however, still remain fairly strict. Since professional wrestling is a scripted event with a predetermined winner, rather than a sport where either team has an equal chance of winning, it falls outside of those rules.
Here, we present our ultimate guide to WWE betting to help you figure out the ins and outs of this new side of professional wrestling.
How are the odds set?
Setting the odds for a game usually involves looking at the stats for each team, their past history against one another, any injuries they might have, and where they’re playing – there’s a lot of research that goes into it and it’s mainly mathematical.
For professional wrestling, there are some additional factors to consider. Rather than just looking at wins and losses, odds makers have to follow each wrestler’s storyline and be knowledgeable enough about the sport to be able to see where these stories seem to be heading.
Another source that most bookmakers rely on is Twitter. Twitter rumors play a role in helping the odds makers set their numbers. How many of these rumors are just speculation and how much actually comes from leaked information from WWE headquarters is hard to say.
It seems unlikely that information would regularly be leaked. Vince McMahon rules his kingdom with an iron fist and would have no problem rooting out and removing anyone responsible for unauthorized leaks. Additionally, even though everyone knows it’s scripted wrestling, fans enjoy maintaining the illusion.
What to bet on?
The most popular event to bet on is the Royal Rumble. It is the wildest of the WWE’s Big Four events. In a modified Battle Royale, the contestants enter the ring at timed intervals and try to be the last man standing. It’s fast-paced chaos and it is awesome.
The reason it’s a popular choice for betting is that it’s a bit like a horse race – except with suplexes, chokeslams and spears, of course – there might be a favorite but there are so many contenders that anything could happen.
Since 2011, the Royal Rumble has been a 30-man match. No matter who you’re rooting for, that’s a lot of action. With there also being a women’s Royal Rumble, there are 60 different contenders in total. It’s more fun for fans to bet on and it’s more fun for bookmakers to work out the odds on.
Originally only available on pay-per-view, the Royal Rumble moved to WWE Network in 2015. This year, it made the jump to Peacock. This was the first time it had been streamed on the network. With a premium subscription to Peacock, Royal Rumble was free to watch.
For fans, this was a pretty good deal but it was also a great way for the WWE to attract new fans. People who were curious about WWE but unwilling to pay pay-per-view prices now had the chance to get a taste for professional wrestling by watching one of its wildest events.
Unless you’re dead set on betting for your favorite wrestler, keep an eye on who is on the card and what names are rumored to be added or have been leaked. Sometimes, the names of surprise entrants make their way to the public and this can drastically shift the odds, depending on who it is.
Where to bet?
As we mentioned above, the laws governing sports betting are still fairly strict. Essentially, most states that allow sports betting only take bets on events that will happen on the field.
For example, until recently, Nevada didn’t allow people to place bets on who would win NFL MVP, since it was a decision made off the field. They also didn’t allow prop bets – like what songs would be sung during the halftime show or what color Gatorade would be drunk that year.
This has begun to change in some states as gambling laws loosen up. However, the safest bet is still to find an offshore bookmaker that you can place a bet with. In the United Kingdom, for instance, betting on professional wrestling is perfectly legal.
As long as you do your research, preferably by using a betting guide or a bookmaker review site, you should be able to find a trustworthy local or offshore bookmaker that will take your WWE bets.
One other thing to note is that most bookmakers that take bets on professional wrestling set the cap fairly low. Betting on the outcome of an event is unlikely to win you a huge amount of money but it won’t cost you too much, either. This helps to keeps the focus on the fun, not on the money.