Today is February 22, with three men wearing Dapper Brown Suits gathering on the stage in Malmö, Sweden. One of the men started in Finland - The Kiwi, one man played the accordion and the other man grilled (very real) falukorv sausage on a (very real) fire. The background dancer filled, crushing the chopped wood in front of the wooden shed, which later turned into a replica of the Finnish sauna.

For the entire two minutes, 46 seconds, three men sang rap and dance in Finnish sauna culture. This may sound like a silly concept for beginners, but the song becomes a serious atmosphere that combines many of the traditional themes and music from the region.

The song, "Bara Bada Bastu" by Swedish-speaking Finnish band Kaj, is an entry to Sweden's 2025 Eurovision Song competition, has caused a huge buzz since its debut on Melodifestivalen that night. Currently, this is a favorite to win the 2025 Eurovision bet in Basel, Switzerland, which begins with the semifinals this Tuesday and Thursday and ends on May 17.

The contact with most Americans in the competition is limited to Will Ferrell's 2020 comedy EuroSinging Contest: The Legend of Fire, or perhaps knowing that Abba and Celine Dion are the two most successful behaviors that stand out from the competition. But in Europe, the Eurovision Song Contest is a huge pop culture sensation, with 37 countries – mostly from the entire continent, but including Australia and Israel – competing in 2025.

The 2024 competition attracted 163 million viewers on the public service channel of the EBC, which organizes the event every year, with more viewers coming from the field. Like many competitive efforts, this massive ratings also meant a lot of bets.

Lee Phelps, spokesman for British sports book William Hill, told ESPN via email. "It's even comparable to some intermediate football games this time of year. It's really the Super Bowl in a special market."

Sam Eaton of OrddsChecker, general manager of sports betting in the UK, estimates that in 2025, more than £266 million will be invested in the competition. Go to Google Trends.

Any major legal sports books in the United States (although Canadian American counterparts do offer) have not yet made a bet for the Eurovision Song Contest, but it is only a matter of time as the competition’s cultural influence grows and the appetite of seemingly unsatisfied American visitors. The world of European TV gambling is one of casual and professionals, with all the complexity and drama of even the most shocking sporting events.

“For decades, we have been offering the European TV betting market – which has long been the internet phenomenon today,” Phelps said. “It matches the show itself, which is not only a music competition, but a cultural moment.”

Unlike live sports competitions and more similar to Oscars that are similar to live sports and popular culture awards (such as the Oscars), Eurovision with disabilities is more about weighing human decisions than predicting results.

The process of crowning the European TV champion begins with each member state's broadcaster selecting his entries. Some people usually choose the mini version of Eurovision in the form of a festival, while others choose through the committee.

The winners of the previous year usually host competitions, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK's largest financial contributions to the "Big5" countries automatically advance to the finals. All other countries send their entries to one of the two semi-finals to compete for a final spot.

Audiences vote by phone, text or official European TV app, and the semi-finals should enter the finals. The TV system is also used in the finals, but is combined with a jury of music industry professionals from every competing country. In all cases, residents of each country are not allowed to vote for entry to their own country. At the end of the final, the song with the highest score in the position voting system was crowned the title.

Like the odds of the reward, this presents a challenge for sports books that balance is not limited to the multiple factors of the song and the artist themselves—although the elements of live performance are an aspect that separates the Eurovision from the awards ceremony.

"Early, when the songs began to drop from February and March, the odds were based primarily on traders' opinions - sounding like potential winners, how previous trends apply, something like this," Phelps said. "As we get closer to May, fans' interactions are getting bigger and bigger, we start relying on expert fan models, which is the impact on voting, rehearsal buzz and the country's final performance. European super fans can be very savvy, so we have to pay attention."

Another unique factor is the political dynamics and alliances between countries that go beyond the scope of competition. Ben Smith is co-host of the American "European? Podcast" and sees Eurovision as an "interesting reflection of international relations, who are each other's friends".

"Because Nordic countries are the same as each other, they will tell each other; they are at the same wavelength. Various Balkan countries, this kind of thing." "But that's not all votes. You have a lot of various cultural groups that have now moved across Europe."

According to Phelps, the process that takes into account each factor makes the market "very sharp" when the actual exhibition rolls.

Eaton, who has been betting on Eurovision for many years, believes that Eurovision is the “easiest bet” because there is usually an obvious formula to find the winner: He focused on the results of the main online polls – which usually gets over 300,000 responses – for most people in March, that’s the majority on orders, which is the majority on orders, which is the order on orders.

The country that won the major European TV polls since 2015 and was the final country in March, ultimately won six of nine matches. So, favorites usually end up winning all the wins, while sports betting adjusts all spring odds based on sharp moves. By contrast, more casual bettors tend to support songs based on geography or intuition, thus providing a large amount of bonuses for these books.

"It's very attractive to new audiences," Eaton said. Eaton noted that the average Eurovision stake is about £12 (about $16). "People who used to be ordered usually either bet on the country they came to or their favorite songs. So they would watch all the songs and support their favorite songs, which is not the right way."

"The betting market for Eurovision networks tends to make the highest competitors the right competitors and often finds who will win the jury vote or dominate the station," a trader at Irish bookmaker Paddy Power told ESPN via email. "In recent years, betting companies have often profited from Eurovision networks, especially in more predictable competitions."

For bets that like favorites but have a short price, there is a chance to get better odds during forecast rehearsals and even during the finals. As the voting and accounting process takes hours, odds usually move as the results flow, and favorites sometimes lose and return to this state within minutes.

There are also opportunities for bettors who want to support the weak, whether through auxiliary markets, such as the top five or the top ten or thorough. After all, it is not unheard of for losers to win everything.

In 2016, Ukraine was about 20-1 loser and had no leading polls or bet volumes before continuing to win. In 2022, Britain won a jury vote, but Ukraine invaded the country with record-breaking television stations to win its third match title, overcoming once-in-a-lifetime odds in the process.

"Ukraine is very good at Eurovision," Smith said. "I think they will do a great job anyway, but it's definitely a gesture of kindness for everyone in Europe, 'Hey, we support you.'"

Sweden is also excellent in the European TV song competition. The country that produces ABBA tied for the most Eurovision titles with Ireland and is expected to stand alone on the top if Kaj can keep his favorite promise.

If Sweden's fatigue has any chance, given that it won the competition last time in 2023, the country seems to be fighting its Zany, more traditional songs this year.

"Pop is one of their main outlets in Sweden, and I think that's why they do a great job," Smith said. "Sometimes, I think they can be properly accused of sending something a little too slick or too 'pop machine'. It's really interesting for their entries this year because they don't send their usual things, which is weird for them - and that seems to be working."

Therefore, bookmakers have installed "Bara Bada Bastu" as a consensus +125 favorite. Bettors largely agreed to the assessment as William Hill reported 30% of the leaders supporting KAJ, while Paddy Power ranked them third, tied for 10% with his hometown of Ireland (100-1).

The second place in the odds committee is Austrian artist JJ's "Waste Love", who shows odds in the European sports betting market with a range of +240. Paddy Power and William Hill both ranked second. Given all the favorite factors, it is clear that the market has found a leader.

“Both of these guys are comfortable leading the field in terms of the huge amount of money spent,” Phelps said.

Nationalism will always play a role for casual bettors, so it is no surprise that “what the hell happened?” in the UK. Remember on Monday that William Hill has bets, while Ireland’s Emmy’s Laika Party has the most bets on Paddy Power.

Bettors are attracting some people with weak lives. Both bookmakers reported Red Sebastian's health support for Belgium's "strobe lights" and the company found itself between 16-1 and 36-1 throughout the market. Shkodra Elektronike from Albania also has "Zjerm" and in some sports betting it ran from the longest 100-1 to 40-1.

While Eurovision song contests are often a favorite game, the rush of live performances can cause anything to happen when the lights rise, giving long shots a chance for everyone to perform well.

"This year feels more open than I've seen in the past few years. Some years you'll hear the song in late February, early March, and it's like, 'That's it." "It's trying to read the room who has both the heart of the public and the heart of the jury."