Every December, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) holds the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards ceremony. This annual event started in 1954, devised by the television executive Paul Fox. Having gone through a long period of evolution, the ceremony now gives eight awards including Team of the Year, Overseas Personality, Lifetime Achievement Award, Coach Award, and Young Sports Personality of the Year.

Among all the awards bestowed by the body, the oldest, and probably the most highly anticipated, is the BBC Sports Personality of the Year title. This title is conferred on a sportsperson that got shortlisted based on a set of criteria including achievements and impact and got the highest number of votes in the public voting conducted. Given by a UK-based company, the award is for British sportspeople only or for those who reside in the UK and have played their sports for a significant period of time.

As popular as it is, the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award has already become a staple part of the events opened for betting by some sportsbooks like William Hill and Sky Bet. In fact, as early as today, these online bookies have already made the lines open for punters who want to guess who will take home that sought-after title in December this year. In case you’re wondering which British sports icons have the highest odds of winning, here are the top five candidates to win as BBC Sports Personality of the Year:

#1 Raheem Sterling

Odds: William Hill — 4.00 | Sky Bet — 4.00

Sport: Football

Notable achievements in football:

93 club goals over 320 appearances

8 international match goals in 49 appearances

2017-18 Premier League champion under Manchester City

2018-19 Premier League champion under Manchester City

2018-19 FA Cup champion under Manchester City

2015-16 EFL Cup champion under Manchester City

2018-19 EFL Cup champion under Manchester City

Other achievements:

Highest transfer fee (£49 million) ever paid for an English player

FWA Footballer of the Year 2019

PFA Young Player of the Year 2019

PFA Team of the Year 2019

British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards: 2019 Sportsman of the Year

UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season 2019

UEFA Champions League Team of the Group Stage 2016

Liverpool’s Young Player of the Year 2015

Golden Boy Award 2014

Liverpool’s Young Player of the Year 2014

Nike brand ambassador in 2012

Controversies:

Alleged inhaling of nitrous oxide for recreation

Alleged shisha pipe smoking

Arrested for alleged assault on former girlfriend in 2013

Accused of common assault on another woman in 2013

#2 Dina Asher-Smith

Odds: William Hill — 10.00 | Sky Bet — 9.00

Sport: Athletics

Notable achievements in athletics:

Bronze medalist at the 2016 Olympics

1 silver medal and 1 bronze medal at the World Championships

4 gold medals and 1 silver medal at the European Championship

1 silver medal at the European Indoor Championships

1 gold medal at the World Junior Championships

2 gold medals at the European Junior Championships

2 silver medals at the Continental Cup

1 gold medal and 1 bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games

Other achievements:

Women’s European Athlete of the Year 2018

BT Sport Action Woman of the Year 2018

Model at Paris Fashion Week

Brand Ambassador of Nike, Muller, and Hublot

SJA 2018 Sportswoman of the Year

Cover girl of mags like Runner’s World UK and Evening Standard Magazine

#3 Lewis Hamilton

Odds: William Hill — 9.00 | Sky Bet — 11.00

Sport: Formula One (F1) racing

Notable achievements in F1 racing:

2018 F1 World Champion

2017 F1 World Champion

2015 F1 World Champion

2014 F1 World Champion

2008 F1 World Champion

All-Time Most Career Points record-holder

Most Wins at Different Circuits record-holder

All-Time Most Pole Positions record-holder

Most Grand Slams in a Season record-holder

Other achievements:

Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) awardee, 2008

BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2014

PAP European Sportsperson of the Year 2114

GQ Sportsman of the Year 2014

GQ Sportsman of the Year 2015

Best Driver ESPY Award 2017 recipient

Liontrust’s Sporting Hero of the Year 2018

Laureus World Sports Award for Breakthrough of the Year 2018 recipient

Pirelli Autosport British Competition Driver of the Year 2018

Pirelli Autosport International Racing Driver Award 2018 recipient

Bambi – Special Prize of the Jury 2008 recipient

2015 Richest British Sportsperson

Controversies:

Fined for violating “anti-hoon” laws in Australia in 2010

Tax evasion issues in 2008

Criticized for describing his hometown as “the slums” in a speech in 2018

Criticized for his “inappropriate comments” in 2017 about his nephew who wore a dress

Criticized by animal rights group after he posted photos of him playing with a white tiger

#4 Tyson Fury

Odds: William Hill — 17.00 | Sky Bet — 19.00

Sport: Boxing

Notable achievements in boxing:

Unified WBA (Super), WBO, IBO, IBF, The Ring, and lineal heavyweight 2015 titleholder

WBC titleholder 2018

European, WBO International, and vacant British heavyweight 2014 titleholder

WBO Inter-Continental 2012 titleholder

Irish heavyweight 2012 titleholder

British and Commonwealth heavyweight 2011 titleholder

English heavyweight 2009 and 2010 titleholder

Other achievements:

The Ring Comeback of the Year 2018

The Ring Fighter of the Year 2015

Controversies:

Mental health issues

Alcoholism issues

Illegal drug use

Criticized for being arguing performing-enhancing drugs should be allowed in sports

Called to be removed from the 2015 shortlist of Sports Personality of the Year nominees for his “homophobic and sexist” comments

#5 Joe Root

Odds: William Hill — 21.00 | Sky Bet — 21.00

Sport: Cricket

Notable achievements in cricket:

1st English captain to win a Test series in Sri Lanka since 2001

6th England player to score a Test century on captaincy debut

Highest-scoring England player on captaincy debut

Top-ranked Test batsman in the world 2015

Current 4th in Test batting

Current 4th in ODI batting

Current captain of the England Test team

Other achievements:

ICC ODI Team of the Year 2018

ICC Test Team of the Year 2016

England Test Cricketer of the Year 2015

England Limited-Overs Cricketer of the Year 2015

Fans’ Player of the Year 2015

ICC Test Team of the Year 2015

ICC ODI Team of the Year 2015

Wisden Cricketer of teh Year 2014

ICC Test Team of the Year 2014

Other sportspeople predicted to be BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2019 include Owen Farrell, Geraint Thomas, Laura Muir, and Andy Murray, to name a few.

Ronnie O’Sullivan, meanwhile, suffered a decline in his odds of winning SPOTY 2019 after his shocking loss to amateur snooker player James Cahill in April. Also, Anthony Joshua slid off the list of SPOTY 2019 top hopefuls when he got unexpectedly defeated by Andy Ruiz, Jr. just this June.

Those with large fan bases, including the five icons listed above, are expected to rack up a lot of votes during the public voting period. But fans and non-fans can still get swayed on who to vote upon taking into consideration the players’ achievement in sports, the impact they have created, and the controversies they’ve been dragged into. Since the lines are now open for this proposition betting event, punters may start taking note of the odds from sportsbooks and begin placing their wagers.