Eurovision Betting Odds: Just two days after being selected, Yuval Raphael, the new Israeli representative for Basel, ascends to the top spots in the betting odds for the Eurovision 2025 competition, following her first-place win on “HaKokhav HaBa for Eurovision 2025.” Watch the updated list!

Two days ago, at the climax of “HaKokhav HaBa for Eurovision 2025,” Yuval Raphael was chosen to represent Israel in Eurovision 2025. Surviving the intense competition on October 7th, she captured and moved the Israeli audience with her chilling voice and compelling story. Yuval will now carry the Israeli flag at Eurovision 2025. Her selection, having won first place from both the judges and the home audience, is proving to be a success as Israel’s fresh representative climbs the betting odds for a Eurovision win, now positioned in second place! Will Yuval manage to move Europe and bring home Israel‘s fifth Eurovision trophy?

Yuval concluded the first stage of the final with the song “Dancing Queen”, originally by ABBA but in a ballad version. At the end of the first round, Yuval received 12 points from all judges, placing her at this stage in first place together with Valerie, with 72 points. In the second stage of the final, Yuval performed the song “Writing’s On The Wall”, originally by Sam Smith. At the end of the evening, Yuval was declared the big winner of the season and Israel‘s representative for Eurovision 2025, after winning first place in both the audience and judges’ votes, receiving the highest number of points, which gave her the victory in the final.

After her selection, reactions worldwide were mixed as expected. Alongside support, sympathy, and excitement among Israelis who were happy with her selection and Eurovision fans around the world who were glad for Israel’s new representative, there were quite a few anti-Semitic, anti-Israeli reactions calling for Israel’s disqualification from the competition along with personal insults to Yuval. Such an attempt doesn’t surprise us in Israel, of course, in light of the Eurovision events last year in Malmö. The morning after the final, Israel climbed to fifth place in the Eurovision 2025 winning odds table, and now Israel has risen even higher – reaching second place in the betting odds for winning in Basel!

It’s impossible to know what Yuval will bring with her song at Eurovision, which is expected to be chosen in the coming weeks by an internal professional committee and released in March 2025. Apparently, the choice of Yuval interests the audience worldwide, and despite the expected mixed reactions (given the nature of Israel’s participation in Eurovision, which doesn’t go down smoothly this year either), it’s evident that Yuval’s story and performances make her one of the most prominent possible contenders this year. Will Yuval bring home the trophy? Will we see a top 5 in the final as in the last two years? It’s still impossible to determine.

Betting Odds: What’s Happening Now?

As of now, Belgium, Sweden, and Israel are at the top of the betting odds: Belgium, surrounded by promising pre-Eurovision buzz, leads the list. Israel, as mentioned, is in second place with Yuval Raphael as its representative. Sweden, the strongest country in Eurovision in recent years, is in third place while Eurovision 2015 winner Måns Zelmerlöw returns this year to compete in the Swedish pre-Eurovision.

Only two countries have chosen their songs for Eurovision 2025 so far – Albania, currently in 36th place in the betting odds, and Montenegro, a step below Albania in the last place at 37th.

Credit: eurovisionworld.com

The Importance of Betting Odds at This Stage

Betting odds tables are based on numerous individuals wagering their money on countries they believe have a chance to win the upcoming Eurovision. At this stage, the betting table is merely an expectation chart, with only a small portion likely to materialize and a significant portion to be disproven. Most of it is based on countries’ results in previous years. These tables can change thousands of times until May. Currently, the table includes this year’s participating countries, the individual artists selected, and the two songs chosen so far—Montenegro’s and Albania’s. Additionally, the betting odds fluctuate based on each country’s national selection competitions, which are currently in full swing with the release of songs and participating contestants. Some national selections have already begun, influencing the betting tables as well. Other movements in the betting odds are driven by expectations for each country, but at this stage, these have a smaller impact compared to earlier in the season (a few months ago). In Israel, betting is illegal, so Israelis cannot place bets on competition outcomes. As Israelis, we can view these tables as merely an expectation chart.

Regarding the importance of betting odds in the coming months: Last year, after Israel’s song was revealed, Israel dropped to eighth place but eventually ranked fifth in the grand final of the competition. This happened following Eden Golan’s qualification for the Eurovision 2024 final, which propelled her to the top spots in the betting odds. It’s worth noting that Switzerland led the betting odds at the beginning of April last year and ultimately won.

At this stage, not all representatives and songs for this year’s Eurovision are known yet, and there are still national selections that have not revealed their competing songs or artists. Therefore, it is essential to take these betting odds with a grain of salt. Nevertheless, this tool should not be underestimated; we will continue to monitor it with hope that after Israel’s song is revealed, its standing will remain strong as it is now.