8 Bizarre Things You Can Actually Bet On

Everyone knows the big markets for betting these days are sports, politics, television, and film. You can bet on a much wider range of topics than just those though. Let’s check out the weirdest things that you can gamble on from around the world.

UFOs

The question of whether or not we’re alone on a spinning rock in the middle of the universe has bothered people for centuries. Now it’s a question bookmakers are earning a profit from.

Right now some bookmakers are offering odds on what year humanity will discover alien life. Your options can stretch from as soon as this year to 2020 and beyond.

While the sheer possibility of extra-terrestrial life existing is laughable to some but it has become big business for the bookies.

Cheese-Rolling

To clarify, this is probably what you instantly think it is.

This is a sport where competitors must roll big old chunks of round cheese down a hill. The quickest over the finishing line wins.

Incredibly, it was reported that cheese-rolling officials applied to the International Olympic Committee for the activity to be officially recognised as a sport and to be considered for involvement in the Olympic Games. Needless to say, the application was denied.

That hasn’t stopped punters from continuing to bet on the novelty activity.

WWE

World Wrestling Entertainment is fake. That is what we have always known. Sorry, if that’s news to you then please accept our apologies. Also, this just in: Santa may or may not be real either.

So if WWE is fake, how can punters bet on it when the results are pre-determined? Well, it is possible.

The match outcomes are more closely-guarded than ever before and in the circumstances where leaks have happened, the bookies will either close the market or significantly reduce the odds.

It still feels like a big bowl of wrong that it’s possible to bet on professional wrestling entertainment. Stop the world, we all want to get off!

Bog Snorkelling

There are some countries where bog snorkelling would simply not be possible. Countries that possess golden beaches, deep blue seas, and luscious hillsides. Fortunately, the UK is not one of those countries.

Instead, every year when the weather is at its very worst, hundreds of competitors from across the globe descend upon the marshes of Britain to don their flippers and snorkels to participate in the World Bog Snorkelling Championship.

Participants compete against each other to complete two lengths of stinking bog water in the quickest time possible.

Not only are betting markets offered on this activity but one year a gambling firm even sponsored the event. Ben and Jerry’s ice cream also sponsored the competition way back in 2000.

Pesapallo

It might sound more like a type of pasta dish but pesapallo is widely regarded as the national sport of Finland. It also enjoys a strong participation numbers in other countries such as Australia, Germany, and Switzerland.

The game is a bat and ball sport that can be compared to baseball or for UK readers, rounders. Markets are not commonplace across sports betting platforms but some bookies based in Scandinavia do offer odds for the bigger events.

Floorball

This is a variation of hockey with a hint of lacrosse. Its origins can be traced back to Sweden in the 1960s.

It is widely played in a lot of European countries such as Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, and Norway but its popularity has spread further to countries including Australia, Canada, Japan, Singapore and the USA.

This has led to a demand for bookmakers to offer odds on competitive organised matches. We expect to see more of this sport on the betting sites over the coming years.

Ferret Bingo

Yes, you read that correctly. Ferret bingo is a thing.

You’ve probably heard of Paul the Octopus or Boo the Monkey being used to accurately predict the outcome of certain events such as the 2010 World Cup and the 2016 US Presidential Election. Well, ferrets are the latest animals to be used for betting purposes.

A ferret is placed into a cage with several numbered exit tunnels. The exit tunnel it chooses is then confirmed as the winning number.

Allegations of tunnel tampering have previously soured ferret bingo but the sport is hopeful that the dark chapter is now firmly in the past.

Wife-Carrying

The sport (yes, that’s right, we said sport) of wife-carrying has long been seen as a novelty recreation with a comedic twinge.

However, things have gotten serious in recent years. There is now an annual World Wife-Carrying Championship and one bookmaker was even offering odds on the competition.

The sport is now all about honor, prestige, and fitness… but still very funny to watch.