Flat Earther’s Bet Flatly Refused by Bookmakers Who Roundly Insist Proof Already Exists That Globe is a Sphere

Posted on: May 12, 2018, 07:00h. 

Last updated on: May 11, 2018, 05:54h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.

A Flat Earther has been left “furious,” according to the UK’s Daily Mirror, by the refusal of various bookmakers to accept his bet that the world is not, in fact, round.

One British man is mad that he won’t get his piece of the wagering pie that the Earth is, in his estimation, flat as a board. (Image: hotcopper.com.au)

Gerrard Gallacher — who hails from Grimsby in the northeast of England — tried to bet up to £100 ($135) with several leading bookmakers, only to be told that the bet would be “invalid.” This caused him to see their refusals as irrefutable evidence to support his personal scientific research into theoretical astronomy.

“I think the reason that they won’t accept my bet is because they know that I am right in saying that the Earth is flat, and if other people joined me in placing the bet they could lose millions,” he reasoned to the Mirror.

“But then even if I am proven wrong and the world is round, then why would they not take my bet? It is just easy money for them.”

Why indeed?

Do Bookies Know Something We Don’t?

What does it all point to? Could bookmakers — along with NASA — be the sinister guardians of the great Flat Earth secret?

“William Hill is known for taking on crazy bets, I could go in now and bet my son will play for Celtic and score a hat trick in 20 years, and they have even accepted one saying Elvis will come back from the dead, so why not that the Earth is flat?” Gallacher wanted to know.

Here’s why, Gerrard. Stargazers (and bookmakers) have known the earth to be round for over 2,000 years. They calculated the circumference of the globe from the shadows cast by sticks. They observed that different constellations are visible from different latitudes. They saw that the Earth’s shadow on the moon is curved.

Falling Flat

Little has changed since. Discounting satellite photography (which Flat Earthers claim is a hoax), we can easily see that the horizon is always around 3.1 miles away and ships sink into it. We can send weather balloons with cameras high enough to clearly observe the curvature of the Earth. We can buy a plane ticket to circumnavigate the globe — because it’s a globe. We note that the Earth does not have corners and that ships do not fall off the edge.

Thus, bookies can no more take a bet on whether the Earth is round or flat than they can on a race that has already been run. They can take a bet on Elvis “coming back from the dead” because that hasn’t happened and it remains a novelty long shot. Round Earth: that’s been put to bed for a while now.

Where Gallacher sees damning evidence to support his theories, we see bookmakers adhering to betting regulations, which is a condition of their licensing. The bookies have an edge. The Earth — it’s been repeatedly proven — not so much.