More than ever, we like to make things interesting by placing a bet. While most people look to mainstream sports or enjoy classic casino games such as poker, blackjack or roulette, there are plenty of other options available.
Politics
Political pollsters use opinion polls to extrapolate a general consensus and report with confidence what the upcoming result of an election will be. There have been a few high-profile occasions when they have failed miserably and many people now feel that they can predict the way the wind is blowing better than the experts.
While the overall winner of the U.S. Presidential Election will obviously attract a great deal of action with Donald Trump currently at 3/1, betting on politics presents several surprising options. Think the U.K. will reverse Brexit and rejoin the E.U.? You can place a bet on it at 7/1. Think Boris Johnson will still be Conservative leader at the next General Election? Put your money where your mouth is. It’s not just US and UK politics, as those with some insight into Brazilian, Irish, Australian and other countries’ affairs can also use their knowledge to place a wager
Competitions
While betting on sports is commonplace, having a wager on other competitions is a fairly recent occurrence. As Britain’s Got Talent has returned to our screens, many people think they can do a better job of picking the eventual winner than Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon, David Walliams and Amanda Holden. While it’s still very early, at the time of writing Born To Perform at 7/2 and Tom Ball at 9/2 are the bookie’s early favourites, but things can change dramatically.
As The Great British Bake Off spinoff, Bake Off: The Professionals returns to our screens with Stacey Solomon as co-host, the viewing public will no doubt consider the opinions of the expert judges Benoit Blin and Cherish Finden. Yet, viewers may think they know better and will no doubt have an opinion on who will leave the contest early and who will be the eventual winner. Strictly Come Dancing is also a popular show that will generate several wagers when it returns from a hiatus in October. As news of potential contestants emerges, fans will already be considering who will win before a foxtrot, waltz or tango has been performed.
Movies
While you can’t bet on the action happening on the big screen, you can bet on many other occurrences in or around Hollywood. It seems like just yesterday that we debated the merits of Best Picture winner CODA and Best Actress winner Jessica Chastain. Yet, you can already place a wager on who you think will win next year, with Hugh Jackman currently at 4/1 and Will Smith at 50/1. You can also place a bet on who you think will be the next James Bond actor, with Regé-Jean Page (13/8) and Idris Elba (2/1) favourites, while P. Diddy represents an outside bet at the time of writing with odds of 500/1.
So there you have a few unexpected outcomes that you can bet on now. From sports to Bond stars, there really is a wager for everything.
