Watching CNN this morning, I was amused to hear that UK bookmakers have given odds (and thus presumably are taking bets) for who will win American Idol. It hadn’t occurred to me that anyone overseas would give a damn enough to want to lay a bet on it. Whether that speaks more to the insidious pervasiveness of American TV or a desperate desire on the part of compulsive gamblers to bet on something, anything, I can’t say. But it’s not the first time I’ve heard of odds being given for something beyond the more obvious gambler’s choices (sports matches, horse races, elections, etc.).
So, what’s the scoop? Is there really so much demand for a variety of things to bet on? Do British laws make it more amenable for gamblers elsewhere in Europe to place their bets in the UK? Are there any restrictions on what bets bookies can take?
I remember odds given on Who Shot Mr. Burns for example.
Pop Idol or your copy cat version American idol is very popular in the UK and is running on ITV2 which while not a very popular channel would still get enough viewers to get some people interested in having a bet.
Most of these bets are really just advertisements at the end of a day. get somebody into betting and they might start betting on other things as well.
Well, illegal stuff, deaths, etc. are out. And dead certainties, they don’t like those either. But otherwise, yeah, they offer bets on all sorts of things. Personally, I don’t watch Pop Idol, but if everyone else does, it seems reasonable that some of them would have a flutter.
Well, while not specifically a bet on a death, if you fancy a flutter on who takes over when the current pope kicks the bucket you can have a wager on betfair.com.
The current hot favourite is the Italian Tettamanzi. You can get odds of 4.2 (or 16/5 in old money). Our own top bishop bloke, Cardinal Murphy O’Connor is quoted at 46 (or 45/1).
Betfair also takes bets on FTSE and Dow Jones movements. You can also spread bet both markets with City Index and other spread betting firms. I would never bet on these markets because I don’t know much about them. Then again I did have a punt on Suzanne to win Pop Idol, so maybe I should just stick to working for a living.
But it’s not the first time I’ve heard of odds being given for something beyond the more obvious gambler’s choices (sports matches, horse races, elections, etc.).