Betting on weird things and the issues related

[BitBakerr1]

My experience outside sports betting was the US elections where I saw bets on who would be the next president, then there was the bet on who the next pope would be. And I thought those were the craziest bets ever until this thread lol. I think these kinds of bets have a certain appeal to people than regular betting, imo the odds are much better than slot games.

so people bet on who would become the next pope, and the craziest thing is that if you check those who are betting on this, they are christian and I thought Christians are not expected to be gamblers. It is crazy that people are betting on some things that is not worth betting on.
I don’t think I have bet on any crazy thing like this things before, I understand that people can bet on political positions, but betting on a religion position is something that is surprising to me.
I believe there are a lot of crazy and nasty things people still gamble on, honestly gambling is becoming something else .

[Frankolala]

In the aspect of getting a fair result in this kind of bets, I think those that decides to engage in such bets already thought about it before playing, they will accept which ever result they get and if they are lucky to win, they will continue to play the game. Just like me, sports betting is my favourite because I win more often there compare other casino games.
The case you are referring to about someone who tried to tamper with a weather equipment was proven to be false because what the person was holding on their hands does not seem like what can be able to alter the weather equipment. So, it's false. However, people who gets on any event they like, already knows about the issues associated to it, that's my opinion.

They already understand the risk associated with this kind of bet but they don't care which is the reason why they went ahead to stake their bets. Humans can bet on funny things just because they feel that they can make money out of it. If gamblers can manipulate their bets in order for them to win majority of gamblers will do that.

[giammangiato]

My issue with this is that traffic cameras are not necessarily independently verifiable by a third party observer unless they have physical presence or a camera of their own. At least with the weather you have multiple independent sources verifying the data. Satellite imagery from multiple states or organisations and local weather station data by national organisations provide a pretty impartial result.

I'm fascinated by the type of bets, with many variables and many unexpected events, but what holds me back is that some bets of this kind can be manipulated.
Maybe the weather one is one of the few that can't be manipulated, or rather partly, because if we rely on temperature it could end up like that guy with the hair dryer and manipulate the data.
If I still have to experience adrenaline in something unknown to me, I place on ordinary football matches, but with the exception of always betting on the underdog.
I have to say that the unforeseen events of football for many are the ruin of their bet, for me in some cases they even made me win the amount to be able to afford to continue playing for free for 4 months on the same casino.
Everything that is not manipulated is just a matter of luck, obviously the opposite is just the greed of man, who would also cheat his own brother to win some money.

[ArabBTC]

Classifying a bet as being weird to me looks somehow because i believe that two or more persons have the right to place their prediction on the outcome of any event of their choice, there is no rule restricting anyone from chosen what to bet on, we can just say that certain bets aren’t regular doesn’t mean they are weird, some months ago i actually placed a bet with my friend on the amount of red cars that will pass through our street in 1hour he chose black cars as his own prediction, the bet was anyone who’s car color of choice will pass most within the 1hour interval will actually be the winner and we actually staked huge amount on that, when my wife was pregnant i also did place a bet with her, we actually decided and told the doctor not to tell us the gender of the child, it was a bet within me and my wife at the end she won because the child she gave birth to was actually the gender she predicted, so you see there are no limits to what we can gamble on, not all gamble are done in casino, gambling can occur anywhere or anytime as long as their is a matured understanding between two parties.

[drangos]

We've seen betting on all sorts of things lately. I remember seeing entire sites dedicated to betting on the weather, betting on traffic, betting on movements of a certain commodity by the seconds difference...

When new forms of betting are created though some issues arise.

My issue with this is that traffic cameras are not necessarily independently verifiable by a third party observer unless they have physical presence or a camera of their own. At least with the weather you have multiple independent sources verifying the data. Satellite imagery from multiple states or organisations and local weather station data by national organisations provide a pretty impartial result.

For a road intersection, I guess you could go there to see if the camera is true to the livestream while you're betting. But what difference does it make when you're just gambling from home for an intersection? For all I know it could be an imaginary place or a fake livestream. In any case the stupider the betting becomes the harder the verified is also.

Some people might think they can have the upper hand this way but it's to no avail. The gambljng trends keep squeezing more and more out of the player. Higher house edge is now the standard even for sports betting. I can imagine betting on traffic has abysmally bad odds.

And another thing, betting on something provides a financial incentive to alter the results if possible. With prediction markets betting on anything becomes easier than ever. So for instance bets on the weather are created on a whim now. It was recently reported then that someone tried to mess with a weather station to win a bet, essentially forcing it to report false results by increasing the surrounding temperature. This puts regular use cases for the weather station in a disadvantaged position just to provide a financial reward to an individual which can even be harmful with other things.

Now, a time will come when bets will be strictly regulated. We have now witnessed the early flourishing of the prediction market, and it was largely unregulated. That’s why all these stories emerged about soldiers betting on Maduro’s arrest, and in France, a guy heated a temperature‑measuring device with a hairdryer. Simply put, the prediction market is now looking for a middle ground between fun and unusual forecasts and the boundary at which these forecasts will be easily verifiable. This is the only way these prediction markets will be able to continue to exist.

I agree that the key issue with these weird prediction markets is not who they're predicting on but whether it can be independently verified. There are a lot more ways to verify with one or many public sources with something like the price of Bitcoin, but with a single traffic camera or weather station there's always the chance that it gets manipulated or inaccurate data. When real cash is at stake, people will try to affect the source itself, such as the lady who used a hairdryer to affect the temperature reading. This can escalate a bet into a huge problem because the manipulation can also be done with legitimate uses of the data. I believe prediction markets can still be interesting but rules need to be established as to what sorts of events are appropriate to wager on and what independent sources will be utilized to determine the result. If the outcome is solely based on a single source which can be easily manipulated, then people might rather bet on it than enjoy it.

[purple_sparkles]

Classifying a bet as being weird to me looks somehow because i believe that two or more persons have the right to place their prediction on the outcome of any event of their choice, there is no rule restricting anyone from chosen what to bet on, we can just say that certain bets aren’t regular doesn’t mean they are weird, some months ago i actually placed a bet with my friend on the amount of red cars that will pass through our street in 1hour he chose black cars as his own prediction, the bet was anyone who’s car color of choice will pass most within the 1hour interval will actually be the winner and we actually staked huge amount on that, when my wife was pregnant i also did place a bet with her, we actually decided and told the doctor not to tell us the gender of the child, it was a bet within me and my wife at the end she won because the child she gave birth to was actually the gender she predicted, so you see there are no limits to what we can gamble on, not all gamble are done in casino, gambling can occur anywhere or anytime as long as their is a matured understanding between two parties.

When it comes to things like that, I believe betting on them is really a personal choice, and people have the right to do so. However, when people start betting on various cruel or horrific events, I think it becomes more about cynicism and a lack of humanity. They may fail to understand the suffering and tragedy behind certain events. So, when it comes to betting on wars, deaths, or anything along those lines, I believe it takes away people’s sense of humanity and compassion. I’m against that.

[ejikeme24]

so people bet on who would become the next pope, and the craziest thing is that if you check those who are betting on this, they are christian and I thought Christians are not expected to be gamblers. It is crazy that people are betting on some things that is not worth betting on.
I don’t think I have bet on any crazy thing like this things before, I understand that people can bet on political positions, but betting on a religion position is something that is surprising to me.
I believe there are a lot of crazy and nasty things people still gamble on, honestly gambling is becoming something else .

It might look crazy to you but for them it's just part of fun, although I'm not going to denny that betting on that type of thing look crazy. And sure some christians will as well engage themselves in this kind of bet probably just few of the christians, although I have seen some people going on a side bet with friends but they didn't involve money, it's just an ordinary betting and whoever that wins will be seen as the best predictor in that initial time, so that's just it. and I must say that I have been involved in this type of bet before and it was fun.

[Sandra_hakeem]

And another thing, betting on something provides a financial incentive to alter the results if possible. With prediction markets betting on anything becomes easier than ever. So for instance bets on the weather are created on a whim now. It was recently reported then that someone tried to mess with a weather station to win a bet, essentially forcing it to report false results by increasing the surrounding temperature. This puts regular use cases for the weather station in a disadvantaged position just to provide a financial reward to an individual which can even be harmful with other things.

Sometimes, I find it very weird that people can literally bet on anything. How does that not bother anyone else too? Where is the fun in predicting the next time China launches a Cargo shuttle, or north Korea would deploy their nuclear warheads, or what the weather would be in two weeks? I also read about the story of the man who manipulated the temperature detectors by heating them up--- that single act ruined thousands of bets.

Where there are risks, there will always be a bunch of eccentrics or scammers ready to take part in such… I would say, scams. Forging weather station data? Oh my God, if people are willing to do this, then the saying is true: Some people would sell their own mother for money. I would be afraid of such people.

True story: who knows how many times he had already succeeded before the surveillance camera caught him in the very act. Oh my God!

You're bored? Dive the Oceans, ride the waves, climb rocks and mountains, join the military, go hunting. Get a fuckin' life!

[Bluedrem]

Now there is no shortage of betting. Now no spin is needed to bet, no cards are needed and no dice are needed. Now if someone wants to bet, he can bet in different ways. Suppose someone bets on the height of a stranger, another person bets on the distance of an object, and another person bets on which alley he can take while walking on the road. People are now betting on all these strange things. The other day I saw a friend of mine betting on something even stranger. A man was walking on the road and my friend was about 30 feet behind the man. My friend bet with another friend that the man would look back three times while walking on the road. My first friend was on his side, but in the end it turned out that the man looked back only once before reaching his destination, so he had to give the entire bet to the second friend. To me, this is a really surprising way of betting.

[len01]

I believe more and more weird bets will be added to online gambling. Even though I enjoy these weird bets that I have never tried before, I still only place very small wagers on them. However, if it is a weird bet made directly between friends or with anyone else, I would be willing to bet a little more.

The reason is that, in my opinion, weird bets offered by online gambling platforms can always be manipulated, and this has happened before. On the other hand, when betting directly with friends, it is purely a matter of luck, without any possibility of manipulation.

[Bryan jessy]

People experiment with money a lot this days, and if you ask me I will not say they made wrong choices by placing bet on funny things, that is form of betting so people just play to try their luck, especially, gambling is a game of luck so they play and hope to be lucky that is not a bad choice, they choose to and it is their own funds their are experimenting with, honestly if it is not a proper betting I would not do a random wired betting, but lot of bettors do and they find it fun that is just human nature so far betting games exist people can form other means of playing the game relating it to the main game it's crazy though.

[o48o]

Isn't traffic data officially measured with something else then cameras? You can just set simpler counters to road. We have similar counters that are visible to everyone that just measures how many bikes have used the bike lane this day/week or month. It's would be cheaper and more accurate to use some tech that count anything that passes by, then use AI to analyze some camera traffic 24/7.

[Finebone]

so people bet on who would become the next pope, and the craziest thing is that if you check those who are betting on this, they are christian and I thought Christians are not expected to be gamblers. It is crazy that people are betting on some things that is not worth betting on.
I don’t think I have bet on any crazy thing like this things before, I understand that people can bet on political positions, but betting on a religion position is something that is surprising to me.
I believe there are a lot of crazy and nasty things people still gamble on, honestly gambling is becoming something else .

Of course, who is gambling before if it's not Christians?
Muslim forbid gambling, so as Christians, but Christians hardly keep to the command of the Bible concerning gambling than Muslim that doesn't joke with the Quran command concerning gambling.

Crazy bet do happens, so it's no longer news, because those that are familiar to gambling knows that once their is an argument within a group of die hard gamblers, they will likely gamble on it, even though it's something they shouldn't be gambling on.

[ruykeri]

If you want to bet on real world events, I think sports betting is the only logical thing to do. And it is very popular with gamblers all over the world. Unusual betting gamblers can participate just out of curiosity or for experiment. But I am not in favor of doing this type of betting regularly. OP you yourself mentioned what kind of risks and scams can be involved in betting on such unusual events. In the case of sports betting, everyone in whole world watches the same match at the same time, the results are updated in real time and are accurate to reality. So there is no chance of anything being fake in sports betting .

[Orpichukwu]

A lot to bet on is really coming out nowadays. I will say it’s us bettors who are considering the old things we have as something becoming boring, and we need things to bet on. I have seen the increase in this type of game, where the only means of verification is what the place you are betting on provides unless you are close to the location and go down there yourself. For me, either I bet blindly by just trusting the system or I totally settle with what can be verified (sport).

[abaeze]

In sports betting or casinos, at least match results, goals, cards, etc. can be verified from multiple sources. But when betting on a specific traffic camera video or data from a small weather station, it becomes much more difficult to verify whether the results are being verified correctly. Because relying on a single source leaves doubts and the results are likely to be influenced.

So the new type of betting market may seem attractive but people should keep these things in mind before betting. Because people think that there may be less competition here than in traditional sports betting, but in reality, the house profit is seen first everywhere.

[iv4n]

When new forms of betting are created though some issues arise.

That's how it goes with anything new in the space... and gambling is no exception. Things move faster than regulation, and of course some services & people will exploit it. Nothing new...

We are mostly just want to test our luck. That's all.

I think this is the right mindset. Everything is fine as long as we play with money we can afford to spend on something entertaining... Some people like to spin slots, others enjoy playing crash & watching that plane go up before it crashes, some enjoy Plinko & balls falling... so there are people who enjoy counting cars. So it's all fun & games as long as we know how much money we can spend, and that's all about testing our luck.

[Don Pedro Dinero]

A lot to bet on is really coming out nowadays. I will say it’s us bettors who are considering the old things we have as something becoming boring, and we need things to bet on. I have seen the increase in this type of game, where the only means of verification is what the place you are betting on provides unless you are close to the location and go down there yourself. For me, either I bet blindly by just trusting the system or I totally settle with what can be verified (sport).

Well, as I said in this related thread yesterday, the betting options have expanded dramatically. That thread was only about a guy betting on traffic, but in this one, the OP has included more these types of bets. The good thing for me is that it doesn't catch my attention; I stick to classic bets, so I won't have any trust issues about whether I'm being ripped off on a bet about traffic or the weather or whatever.

[suzanne5223]

Even though I have bet on several things ^{(which some people may consider as weird things)} I never like the concept of betting that would be bettors the chance or the will of doing something that could harm the people, nature, environment or lead to the killing of someone which is something some prediction market never respect, and I believe this will be one of the reason Kalshi was choosing as the official partner of the US open instead of PolyMarket who's now working on prevent something that could trigger the manipulation of the US midterm elections.

[DanWalker]

For a road intersection, I guess you could go there to see if the camera is true to the livestream while you're betting. But what difference does it make when you're just gambling from home for an intersection? For all I know it could be an imaginary place or a fake livestream. In any case the stupider the betting becomes the harder the verified is also.

Your suspicion seems 100% correct to me. Gambling based on live streaming or camera tracking is actually very risky. There's really no way for us to know whether those footage shown across screen is real or pre recorded looped video or AI generated fake stream. When any platform play role of auditor and bookmaker themselve, and there is no independent auditor then it is easy for them to manipulate data.

In fact, house edge betting on oddities is worse than normal sport betting. Bookmaker keep their margin so high on algorithm driven event like traffic or split-second commodity fluctuation that we have no mathematical chance of winning in long-term. Prediction that have no room for analysis or skill are actually best avoided.