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17 July 2005
You Bet On What? (Part
1)
Novelty Bets. True
Gambling Fans Will Bet On Anything
There may not be much
chance to bet on scorpion fights in online
casinos, but there
are still lots of weird and wonderful bets to be had. From
who will win the next General Election, to who will be the
next pope, to who will win Big
Brother, the
opportunities for so-called novelty betting abound - and
they're increasing.
It's often said that a
true gambler will bet on two flies climbing up a wall, and
reports of strange and unusual bets seem to bear this out.
Novelty betting has been growing in popularity in the UK and
Ireland over the past five years or so, in internet casinos
as well as offline, and there's no sign of people's appetite
waning any time soon for such obscure punts as which
Simpsons character will come out as gay, who JK Rowling will
kill off in Harry Potter, or whether Elvis will be found
alive.
"The ingenuity of
invention of punters never ceases to amaze me and there is
always something out of the ordinary popping up in my
postbag or via an email," comments William
Hill spokesman
Graham Sharpe.
Fancy A
Flutter?
Here's a selection of a
few strange and unusual bets.
- Reports of a new type
of bingo have appeared on the BBC. Ferret Bingo involves
punters betting on which of seven numbered drainpipes the
ferrets will use to escape from a barrel.
- After Tim
Henman's latest
Wimbledon appearance bookmakers were reported to have
taken bets at 250/1 on his two-year-old daughter Rosie to
one day take the Wimbledon crown.
- Bookmakers have
offered odds of 500-1 on the discovery of the
Loch
Ness Monster,
2000-1 on Michael and LaToya Jackson proving to be the
same person, and 1000-1 on the second coming.
- Gerbil roulette has
featured on satellite TV. The aim is to bet on which of
eight gerbil houses the creature will run into after
being spun around on a platform.
- Those who want a
change from betting on the horses might fancy a flutter
on the World Championship Rattlesnake Races held in
Texas. However, Graham Sharpe warns potential punters to
bear in mind the rules, which include: "Any contestant
mishandling a snake, or getting snake-bitten, is
automatically disqualified."
- Several Filipino
children are reported to have died of poisonous spider
bites during the 1980s, when a craze for betting on the
outcome of fights between spiders took hold.
- A hermit is reported
to have bet Venezuelan villagers that he could hypnotise
and tame a wild jaguar. The animal savaged him to
death.
- Betting on scorpion
fights held on saucers is reportedly popular among
gamblers in the Middle East.
- Television programmes
are another popular source of novelty bets, with
bookmakers offering odds on the likelihood of the Queen
Vic changing its name and a lesbian wedding taking place
on EastEnders.
Click Here
To Read Read Part 2 Of This Series
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