Did you know that people started betting on various sporting events several thousand years ago? The first analogs of modern bookmakers appeared in the UK and quickly gained popularity. However, the industry was somewhat different from what it looks like now.
These days, thrill seekers go to gg.bet to wager on esports or various traditional disciplines, while before, people bet not only on sports but also on very unusual and even sometimes ridiculous events. History has seen plenty of crazy stakes and enormous wins, and we prepared the most mind-blowing stories for you!
Bet on bite
Thomas Savirson, a betting enthusiast from Norway, once made an interesting prediction on football, allegedly Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez would definitely bite someone during a match with the Italian national team. Ardent fans probably remember that the footballer really failed to deter his aggression in that game and left bite marks on the shoulder of poor Giorgio Chiellini. So, Savirson’s prediction proved to be correct, and the man won almost 6,000 crowns.
Mysterious sixth sense
Mysticism is a quite rare phenomenon in the sports betting industry, but one extraordinary case still deserves special attention. An ordinary worker, Mick Gibbs, managed to win 800 thousand dollars by wagering only 50 cents. The young man predicted as many as 15 outcomes in one express bet and then received his well-deserved reward.
A million for 50 pennies
Another successful bet which takes its place in history was made by a 60-year-old man at the North Yorkshire races in 2008. He paid only 50p for the ticket and won £1,000,000 on an accumulator bet. The chance of predicting an outcome of eight races in a row was almost 2.8 million to one.
Highest odds
What else could be so unusual about betting on horse racing? The ratio between the amount of a stake and the winning itself. It was back in 1995 when Ladbrokes paid out £208,098 on an event with odds of 3,072,887. The lucky bettor wagered just 5p. Due to the triggered multiplier, this win turned out to be the largest in history and was even included in the Guinness Book of Records.
Bet on own child
Eddie Kirkland received £9,908 from William Hill after his son Christopher appeared in his first football match as an England goalkeeper. Eddie made a £98.10 bet, suggesting that his eight-year-old son would once play for the national team. Indeed, Chris achieved great success and even became a coach at Colne.
Bonus: Most Curious Bets in Bookmakers
Betting is always entertaining since bookmakers never cease to come up with new, interesting ways to keep their clients engaged. Meet the most incredible bets of all time:
- Some bookmakers offered attractive odds for betting on the death of the planet. In 2012, bets on the world’s end were accepted with odds of 666.
- PaddyPower once opened a company for betting on mammoth cloning.
- Bookmakers accepted bets with odds of 50 on Donald Trump embracing Islam. Clients could also assume that Trump would repaint the White House gold – if the bet won, its amount would be multiplied by 1,000.
- History has seen some pretty strange bets on celebrities. For example, bookmakers took a stake with odds of 500 suggesting that Michael Jackson and his sister La Toya Jackson were the same person.
- There was a case when one client offered a bookmaker to bet that he would cut off his leg with a chainsaw. This proposal was rejected.
- In 2010, Cliff Bryant successfully predicted that residents of 13 towns in northern England would see snow over the Christmas holidays. He made an express bet and won more than £7 million, but Ladbrokes gave him only £30, claiming that express bets on weather were prohibited and the operator accepted it by mistake.
- There was an option to bet on Elvis Presley hitting a UFO with a gunshot. It was also assumed that the UFO would fall into Loch Ness Lake and kill the monster. The bet was offered by William Hill and had odds of 14,000,000.
