How to Bet on the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest

As you look forward to celebrating the 4th of July, it is hard to get more quintessentially American than chowing down on some Nathan’s hot dogs.

While you are enjoying some hot dogs of your own, why not take this opportunity to place a wager on the famous Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest?

From CNN, this was the big event going on in 2019!

What is the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest?

According to Facebook, Takeru likes to eat smoked carrots when he’s not scarfing down some dogs!

The Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest is a hot dog eating event that has been taking place since 1972. It is held annually on July 4th at the original Nathan’s location in Coney Island.

While the competition has always attracted a lot of attention both in the USA and around the world, it became all the more famous in 2001. That year, Takeru “The Tsunami” Kobayashi managed to scarf down 50 hot dogs. The record prior to that year was only 25.5.

While the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest was a mixed event for most of its history, in 2011, a separate event was created for women. The first winner of that women’s event was Sonya Thomas in 2011.

The annual hot dog eating contest has become a massive draw for crowds, sometimes bringing tens of thousands of people to witness the spectacle. ESPN also broadcasts the event for those who cannot make it out to Coney Island.

Why Bet on the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest?

We will be honest—the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest is not a great way to make bank as a sports bettor. That said, it is a heck of a lot of fun. It is the perfect way to cap off your celebration of Independence Day. Whether you win or lose, you will feel like you are part of the festivities at Coney Island.

Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest Types of Bets

Here are the types of bets you can place on the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest:

• Winner:

This is a straight wager on the winner of the men’s or women’s hot dog eating contest.

• Totals:

You can place a wager on how many hot dogs an individual contestant will consume during the competition.

• Head-to-head:

If you think you know how one contestant will compare to another, you can make a head-to-head wager.

• Second place:

Because it is so unlikely that anyone other than the favorite will win each year, some betting sites let you wager on who comes in second. You know, those who would have won if the favorite were not competing.

• Props:

Some sportsbooks may offer props, which are simply wagers that do not involve the outcome of the competition.

• Accumulators:

You may be able to add multiple selections related to the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest to your slip as an accumulator. If all of them are correct, you win a payout. If any of them are incorrect, you lose the whole wager.

Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest Strategy

Here’s the thing to know about betting on the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest: you really do not need a strategy!

Take a look at these past results for the men’s (and mixed, prior to 2011) contest:

A couple of the previous chow-down-on-dogs winners, Joey “Jaws” Chestnut and Miki Sudo.

And here are the past results for the women’s contest:

In case you are wondering, Miki Sudo did not participate in the 2021 contest that Michelle Lesco won. Sudo is participating in 2022.

Considering that the same people tend to win this contest year after year with amazing consistency, returning champions are extremely heavy favorites.

That means that simply placing a bet on the person who is most likely to win is not going to be a very financially lucrative betting strategy. You would have to bet a very large amount of money to win an incredibly small amount of money.

To give an example, the odds for Joey Chestnut at Bookmaker.eu are -5000.

Who knew that betting on these can actually win you some money!

That means you would have to wager $5,000 to win $100 on Chestnut. Obviously, there is no reason to put yourself through this.

Of course, you could always bet on an underdog. Your chances of winning will not be very high, but if you do, you should be able to get a nice payout even with a relatively
small wager. So, that might be worth a try.

Perhaps a better approach is to simply make other types of bets. You could wager on the winner without Joey Chestnut if you find a sports betting site that offers that (Bookmaker.eu is among them, actually). Or you could make head-to-head bets, or you could do totals.

As far as assessing the rest of the field goes, you should look up past results for the competitors. You can also do some research into the training practices they follow and the techniques they use. You may want to check up on their social media pages as well to see if you can learn anything more about their health and conditioning going into the event.

Where to Bet On Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest

Now that you know more about the types of wagers you can place on Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest and why you may want to avoid backing the favorite to win, let’s go over where you can bet!

1. Bovada

The top US-facing sportsbook in the world is Bovada. One of the things this site has going for it is a massive selection of events to bet on, including major sports, some more obscure sports, and quite a few non-sporting events. Among them is the hot dog contest.

To wager on the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, navigate to the entertainment section of the sportsbook, then to “Current Events (USA).” You will find the hot dog eating contest listed in that category.

At the time of this writing, we are only seeing betting on the winner of the women’s competition. This seems unusual, so perhaps more wagers will be added in the coming days.

When you join Bovada, you can claim a Sports Welcome Bonus worth $250, or a Bitcoin Sports Welcome Bonus of up to $750. There are also regular and crypto casino bonuses of $3,000 and $3,750 respectively.

2. BetOnline

For many years now, BetOnline has been one of our top recommended sportsbooks for its low betting minimums, a wide selection of sports, and high betting limits.

It is a little tricky to find the “Competitive Eating” category at BetOnline. In fact, we are not even sure how to navigate to it in the sportsbook menu, but you can find the page here.

BetOnline offers action on all of the following:

• Head-to-Head Matchup
• Nathan’s Hot Dog – Total Dogs Geoffrey Esper
• Nathan’s Hot Dog – Total Dogs Gideon Oji
• Nathan’s Hot Dog – Total Dogs Joey Chestnut
• Nathan’s Hot Dog – Total Dogs Michelle Lesco
• Nathan’s Hot Dog – Total Dogs Miki Sudo
• Nathan’s Hot Dog – Total Dogs Nick Wehry
• Nathan’s Hot Dog Contest 2022 – Odds to Win

When you sign up on the site, you can claim a 50% Welcome Bonus of up to $1,000 on your first deposit. You can also get a 100% Bonus on your first crypto deposit. Reload bonuses for betting on sports are 25% and 35% for regular currency and cryptocurrency respectively.

3. MyBookie

If you have been looking for a sports betting site that offers excellent customer service and fast, reliable payouts to winners, you cannot go wrong with MyBookie.

Here is what you can wager on at MyBookie for the hot dog contest:

• Total Dogs Eaten by Joey Chestnut
• Total Dogs Eaten by Geoffrey Esper
• Total Dogs Eaten by Nick Wehry
• Total Dogs Eaten by Darren Breeden
• Men’s Winner Total Hot Dogs Eaten
• Nathan’s Hot Dog Contest 2022 – Joey Chestnut To Win
• Nathan’s Hot Dog Contest 2022 – Geoffrey Esper To Win
• Nathan’s Hot Dog Contest 2022 – Nick Wehry To Win
• Nathan’s Hot Dog Contest 2022 – Gideon Oji To Win

You can get a 50% Sports Welcome Bonus when you make your first deposit. If you prefer, this site also offers a 10% Cash Bonus up to $200 on your initial deposit. When you reload your account, you can claim a 25% Bonus up to $500. An 8% Horse Rebate is available too.

4. Xbet

Xbet is a sports betting site that is run by the same awesome people who run MyBookie. As with sister site MyBookie, Xbet lets you wager on the Nathan’s Hot Dog Contest. Here is what is offered:

• Total Dogs Eaten by Joey Chestnut
• Total Dogs Eaten by Geoffrey Esper
• Total Dogs Eaten by Nick Wehry
• Total Dogs Eaten by Darren Breeden
• Men’s Winner Total Hot Dogs Eaten
• Nathan’s Hot Dog Contest 2022 – Joey Chestnut To Win
• Nathan’s Hot Dog Contest 2022 – Geoffrey Esper To Win
• Nathan’s Hot Dog Contest 2022 – Nick Wehry To Win
• Nathan’s Hot Dog Contest 2022 – Gideon Oji To Win

Joining this site allows you to claim a first deposit Sports Bonus as high as $500. Sports betting Reload Bonuses are as high as $250, and you can look forward to a 7% Horse Rebate.

5. BookMaker

One more great site which we can recommend for betting on the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest is BookMaker. We love their competitive lines, and so will you. Here is what you can wager on over at BookMaker:

• Joey Chestnut vs. Field
• Men’s Winner Hot Dogs Consumed
• Men’s Winner Without Joey Chestnut
• Joey Chestnut to Beat Record of 76 Hot Dogs
• Women’s Winner

Naturally, you can pick up some other exciting bonuses and promotions when you sign up at this site. There are a range of welcome bonuses and reload bonuses available right now. Among them is a Welcome Offer for 15% Cash plus 50% for Casino of up to $1,600.

Wager on the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest Now

Now you know where you can place wagers on the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. Happy 4th of July, and good luck wagering on this iconic American competition!