Online Casino Taking Odds on Hurricane Strikes

Thursday July 06, 2006

Betting on something as unpredictable as the weather is like guessing on what day Britney Spears will give birth.

But internet gambling sites have come up with several bizarre bets on the likelihood of hurricanes hitting America.

Some of the bets include, how many named storms and hurricanes will form in 2006? Will a Category 5 storm make landfall in the United States? How many Category 3 storms will form during this year's hurricane season?

There has been some opposition to the wagers for being tasteless, but Dave Johson, owner of WagerWeb which has taken more than 1,000 bets on hurricanes this year, doesn't think the bets go to far, 'That's why when we developed odds, we didn't touch death or destruction or whether it would make landfall,

'Most of the people wagering on hurricanes on Wagerweb.com actually reside in strike zones such as Florida and Louisiana. It is in those places where the media pays the most attention to hurricanes.'

Calvin Ayre of online casino Bodog.com, said, 'Hurricanes are a hot subject right now. Anything they have an interest in generally, they also like to bet on.'